Police brutality has been a hot media topic over the past year. About a thousand people were killed by police in 2015. Some blame racism, some blame the victims, but not all of the incidents can be painted with the same brush.

When tragedies occur, everyone reacts before they learn the full story. In the case of police shootings, the left's knee-jerk reaction is "He didn't do anything! Cops are racist!" while the right's is "he had it coming. Police are totally okay, always."

Now, obviously, in some cases, the victim of a shooting did do something criminal or violent. And in a violent situation one's first instinct is to protect oneself and innocent people; sometimes officers may feel they don't have time to think before shooting. Many police officers have acted bravely in the line of duty, and they seek to protect the innocent. However, not every individual is the same, and the widespread blind defense of officers just because they are officers concerns me.

Generally, the very pro-police people are very conservative. And conservatives oppose too-powerful, too-large governments, in every public institution except the police force. In that case, the rule, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely," doesn't apply. No matter how corrupt or drunk on power, an officer is, the far-right will defend him or her because of the badge.

Now, to demonize every officer because of his or her badge is just as outlandish, but do you see the hypocrisy in saying "I don't like politicians, public schools, or any other public institution, but I will support the police no matter what they do?"

I do see the necessity of the police in some situations. Even some of the cases that the media calls "brutality" are actually situations in which the officer shot out of self-defense. However, not every case is the same. When kids are involved, pulling a gun probably isn't necessary. Calling the police when a schoolgirl acts out in class is not necessary. And defending a resource officer for using force in a situation when you would never defend a teacher or administrator is hypocritical.

Not every police officer is power-hungry. As said before, many of them are seeking to protect, not to harm, the innocent. I am not advocating to abolish the police department entirely. I am pointing out that cities and counties need to acknowledge the existence of the problem within the police-- and if there isn't a problem within their local department yet, to make sure one does not develop. Weeding out the bad police officers protects citizens, but it also protects the honorable officers.

This is not to say that everybody's reactions to the police were justified. "Social justice" movements that advocate for killing policemen arbitrarily, rioting violently or otherwise exacerbating the issue are not excusable. Tweeting things like "#F*ck the police" or "Fry 'em like bacon" isn't appropriate or helpful. Becoming as or more corrupt than the very thing one is fighting against is all too easy. But neither side is fully excused.

Not all officers are pigs, but not all of them are innocent either. Over-generalizations, on either side, won't solve anything.