I find this idea that the lives of police officers are worth more than other citizens to be galling.

Well, they use that system to alert people when a kid is abducted. What gives them precedent over other citizens, just because they're kids? Why when someone older goes missing or is abducted don't they use the system? Is a kid's life really worth more than say an 18 year old's (especially since I've seen Amber Alerts issued on 15 and 16 year olds, is that 2-3 years really that relevant?), or someone even older? Who decides that? I mean, I understand how a parent would look at it were it their kid, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say that, for instance, I'd place a higher value on the lives of say my parents or friends than on some kid I had never even met (not that I wouldn't try and help the theoretical kid were I able to, but still...).

I understand that kids are looked upon as being less able to defend themselves than an adult would be. But at the point an attacker has overpowered them and they are being abducted, the playing field has been leveled and they have roughly the same chances of survival. So why not issue alerts for citizens that aren't minors as well? Is it because adults are supposed to be better able to defend themselves, and that if they fail to do so, it's somehow their "fault" that they got abducted? Well, sorry to say, but a person can take every reasonable precaution out there and still not be able to fend off a prepared and determined attacker.

Another way to look at it is that the cops are the ones out there eating society's shit day in and day out so the rest of us can sit around bitching about (often times) stupid shit and go about our lives reasonably certain that we're safe from random assholes assaulting us and taking our valuables or our lives. They are the agents of a deterrent that keeps a lot of us much safer than we might otherwise be (though granted things aren't perfect and that doesn't always work). There's a reason cops get huge, elaborate state-paid funerals when they're killed in the line of duty. Using the Amber system like is mentioned in that article is nothing more than a minor extension of that sort of thinking. Or should regular citizens all get those sorts of funerals as well?

So as to not totally stray off topic, on the surface it does seem like those cops in the OP went over the top and should be punished for doing so. And I agree with Kreyson. How do you not notice a helicopter coming your way in a situation like that? It'd be one thing if some random joe with a camera caught them from across the street or something, but a helicopter with a huge spotlight comes zooming in and you don't stop beating the suspect to at least cover your own ass? That's pretty fucking dumb.