Very well put Puc! My dad has been in law enforcement for most of his adult life and he's always had the opinion that if you act like a person, to the people you're serving, you will almost always come out better than being the hard-ass. That being said, he began his police career before our world had gotten so crazy! I cant help but think that I'm going to find myself in law-enforcement like him, and I hope I can be half the officer he is!
And I agree, if i was in the couple's shoes I dont think that I'd sue for a monetary value, I would just ask the police department that they work for, on national TV that they re-evaluate some of their employees, because Like you said its the taxpayer like you and me that ends up paying the bill, not any actual carthieves!