Ryujin
Legend
That's true... if it actually happens. Every story I've ever been told about someone being thrown in jail "just for pissing off a cop" has failed to stand up to any scrutiny. An officer just can't take someone to jail without a criminal charge.
It can look that way sometimes though. Say I stop a car for a traffic violation. Driver refuses to provide ID or give his/her information. I could take that person to jail for a simple traffic violation because I'm unable to cite them to court. Also they will not receive a bond at the jail until they see a judge unless they provide their info or ID. I never had that happen. I always warned people what would happen, and they always gave me enough info to issue the ticket. In some states refusal to sign a ticket will get you a trip to jail. In KY the tickets aren't signed by the recipient. If you don't take care of the ticket or come to court...Failure to Appear warrant.
When you hear the stories about people getting arrested for "mouthing off" I would ask that you view them with some perspective. Often the person telling the tale will leave out some details that might change the scenario.
I am positive that there are officers that lose their cool and make bad arrests. They are responsible for those arrests and if a supervisor doesn't nail them, the prosecutor, the judge, or a defense attorney will. Also, the actual victim of a false arrest has recourse. If you are arrested, you will get your day in court if you want it. Any defense attorney worth their salt will crucify an officer that made a bad arrest. That includes public defenders. They may be overworked, but I've never met one that didn't know their business. The ACLU is just waiting for good cases of officer misconduct if the public defender doesn't have the time.
You might want to review some of the incidents surrounding the Toronto G20 summits, in 2010. While some incidents did result in prosecutions, in one case that was decided recently the conviction of a police superintendent on misconduct charges, the vast majority of incidents could not involve prosecution due to an inability to identify the officers involved. Given, that's a rather singular situation, but that sort of thing does happen.