Is America becoming a police state?

I was raised with the idea that the police could be trusted and that you could always find safety and proper resolution by involving law enforcement. Even though I still feel that most officers are good most of the time, I can't help but feel that the amount of power an officer carries, and a mindset of coercion, makes any association a risk.

Time and time again, with the advent of portable recording devices, officers are caught acting inappropriately, aggressively, and illegally. Is this a new issue? probably not, but it's clear that some law enforcement is clearly unaccustomed to the level of accountability its power merits. For the sake of this post, I tried to find the most blatant, and well-documented incidents supporting this position -- It is important to note that the citizen in the first video was able to debunk the officer's false account and suspend the officer because of his calm demeanor and recorded evidence of the incident, let it be a lesson.

Though I was tempted to include videos from the UC Berkley pepper spraying incident, I feel that videos depicting officers illegally arresting, detaining, or harassing citizens who have done absolutely nothing even remotely illegal will show the extent to which some police will abuse powers and avoid accountability.

Not a police hater, I truly appreciate what they do, it's a hard job and I wouldn't want to do it, but we as a nation should not tolerate individuals who think a badge, a gun, and something to prove, qualifies you for the police force.

For those unfamiliar with personal rights, no citizen is required to provide identification unless they have been placed under arrest. This is extremely important to remember since citizens are frequently bullied into giving this information and labeled "suspicious" or "uncooperative" if they exercise their right to privacy.