Rather cynical and inaccurate. You are correct that they cite people which does bring in revenue to the government but they don't make the laws. Ask a cop how many stupid laws they have to enforce that the legislature passed without thinking. When some pedestrian gets hit, whats the first thing people do? Go complain about why the police aren't making the roads safe enough. Then cops go out and cite and there is a backlash about all these people getting citations. Some people will never be satisfied.

But cops do prevent crime. When they catch a suspect (not that rare) they often are preventing future crime by that suspect. They also occasionally catch people in the act of violent or property crime. They arrest drunk driver's regularly as well. Keep in mind that alcohol is a factor in about 50% of all traffic fatalities.

Yes, cops get paid leave after a shooting. This serves multiple purposes including time to investigate, assessment of the officer, a chance for the officer to process what has happened and seek support services, etc. And they get off scott free most the time because probably 98% of police shootings are justified.

I'm rather cynical as we live in a state where cops deny you the right to protect yourself with conceal carry just because they can.
I stand by my assertion cops do not prevent crime they just document it. A DUI bust may save a life, but the crime was already committed.
the courts put people in jail, cops just process them and the paperwork.

I'm sure the flash bang in the babies face was justified.  That cop got a nice vacation.  We give cops a lot of power, most do not
abuse that,  power,  but I'd rather let thousands go free than destroy one man's life, especially when enforcing a BS law that everyone
except a Chairman of a legislative committee knows is BS.
The guards at Nazi death camps used the excuse that they were just enforcing the law,  thankfully,  thinking men hung them.  Maybe if
American cops were a little afraid of abuse of power, they would be more careful and respectful, and not for
example run down an unarmed man and put 9 rounds in his back over some vehicle infractions.
Would you get in an airplane that only had a 98% chance of safely getting you to your destination?
Cops need to be perfect, or they need to find a different job.

I'm rather cynical as we live in a state where cops deny you the right to protect yourself with conceal carry just because they can.
I stand by my assertion cops do not prevent crime they just document it. A DUI bust may save a life, but the crime was already committed.
the courts put people in jail, cops just process them and the paperwork.

I'm sure the flash bang in the babies face was justified.  That cop got a nice vacation.  We give cops a lot of power, most do not
abuse that,  power,  but I'd rather let thousands go free than destroy one man's life, especially when enforcing a BS law that everyone
except a Chairman of a legislative committee knows is BS.
The guards at Nazi death camps used the excuse that they were just enforcing the law,  thankfully,  thinking men hung them.  Maybe if
American cops were a little afraid of abuse of power, they would be more careful and respectful, and not for
example run down an unarmed man and put 9 rounds in his back over some vehicle infractions.
Would you get in an airplane that only had a 98% chance of safely getting you to your destination?
Cops need to be perfect, or they need to find a different job.

An unrealistic expectation. Cops are humans and therefore will never be perfect. Mistakes are made all the time, some of them reasonable and some of them unreasonable. We all know there are some bad apples but that is the human condition and though we can never eliminate it we do try to mitigate it.

If a DUI driver is arrested before he kills someone then the cop prevented the later crime. Yes, by definition a crime has to have been committed before an arrest can take place but that doesn't mean they don't prevent crime. They prevent future crime by getting the criminal off the street which also may deter others from committing the crime. Active patrolling and good community relations also serve to prevent crime.

And yes we all wish  we could legitimately apply for CCW but I think the blame lies with the chief and the brass not cops in general.

Police don't prevent crime. Their job is to control the population, collect revenue, and protect the centers of power. Crime is prevented by having a stable society, in which case the number of officers and law enforcement expenditures can be greatly reduced. When societies are about to fall they always have an over abundance of laws and law enforcement, but it doesn't do them any good. They "peace officers" morph into an occupying force and are used as cannon fodder by the elites against an increasingly angry and impoverished population. Not a bad gig while most people are buying the Protect And Serve propaganda, but when the politicians gamble away their pensions on Wall Street while they are on the front lines battling a growing domestic insurgency it's not a pleasant position to be in.

Lets get the thread back on topic on confiscation.

The way to prevent confiscation is to have more people own and shoot guns, then there is a stronger voice and it would be harder to do.