After 17 Years, I Finally Figured Out Canadian Policing

This article about why British police remain unarmed contains a simple statement that suddenly explained for me the jarring difference between police officers in my old country and police officers in my new one.

"Arming the force would, say opponents, undermine the principle of policing by consent - the notion that the force owes its primary duty to the public, rather than to the state, as in other countries."

That completely different philosophical understanding explains everything. It's why we see so many cases of police beating people up, why police in Canada are so often rude, ignorant and thuggish. I couldn't understand it when I got here, but this is it.