Many people have no doubt heard the familiar phrase, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power, corrupts absolutely.” This phrase is often used in the context of those who hold positions of political power, but it can be applied to other positions as well. Americans have witnessed this phenomenon at all levels of government and have seen CEOs, bankers, members of the military, media giants and even police officers abuse their positions. Humans, regardless of their position, are not immune to the tendencies that occur when given — or even desiring — authority.

When power is used to create or cause injustice, people’s lives end up ruined and communities and organizations are torn apart. In addition, live video footage of police in particular means viewers form immediate impressions, which in turn causes a loss of trust and confidence among the people who are supposed to be served.

Recent police incidents in Chicago reveal some disturbing trends that have done considerable damage to the entire department and what it is supposed to do — serve and protect. But there’s a huge caveat, too.

Barack Obama’s Social Justice™ Department released a report on Friday that ripped the Chicago police department for its actions over the past several years. The report highlighted incidents in which police officers were credibly accused of excessive force, abuse, shooting at fleeing and unarmed suspects, improper non-lethal force procedures and racial bias against blacks and minorities.

The report also alleges that there is inadequate training for police officers on the front end, and too little accountability on the back end — times when the bad actions of police officers were ignored, or at best there were very minor repercussions for officer misconduct. From the bottom to the top, the Chicago Police Department has many significant flaws, according to the DOJ.

On one hand, the report shows that there is indeed injustice that occurs from the very people who are supposed to uphold justice and act justly themselves. On the other hand, there is no doubt that leftists created and are using this report, which reveals the bad actions of a few, to paint a broader picture of abuse in order to pander to Democrat constituents.

Not too long ago, the Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, released findings of injustice from its investigation into the Ferguson Police Department. The DOJ’s report indicated that there was “disparate impact” — a favorite, albeit almost entirely fabricated term for Obama — because of what the DOJ determined to be racially motivated misconduct from the city’s police force.

In Ferguson, the police force was predominantly white and the majority of those arrested or involved with incidents with the police were predominantly black. The report was quick to point to racism and the city’s thirst for revenue, but mentioned few causes of the problems. The DOJ investigation, combined with a militarized police force everyone saw displayed on TV, no doubt compounded the problems the city faced.

Predictably, the DOJ’s attempt to “help” in Ferguson actually exacerbated the problems. In the ensuing months, police nationwide were discouraged from enforcing the law, while thugs — particularly black ones — were emboldened to commit more crime. The resulting crime increase can be attributed to the Ferguson Effect.

Obama’s Justice Department wants to repeat this using the Chicago PD as an example, all to solidify Democrat votes within the black community.

The city of Chicago is of course, a much larger city and with a police force of 12,000, so it’s natural that there would be more numerous complaints of police misconduct. But that’s no excuse for the race-baiters who want to exploit the slightest incident.

There may be some real problems with Chicago’s police practices, and there are certainly other large cities facing similar challenges. There are always a few bad apples, including in police forces. The challenge is addressing potential causes of problems before they become problems. It’s worth reminding people that the majority of police officers are the good guys who simply want to do their job — to serve and protect the people of the communities in which they serve.

And no police officer is guaranteed to return to his family at the end of every shift.

During the last few years, there has been an increase in disrespect for police officers, fomented by Democrats and leftist organizations like Black Lives Matter. And their accomplices in the mass media pounce on every incident, running wall-to-wall coverage in service of The Narrative. Obama has been at the forefront of this war on cops, and this report on Chicago is the latest salvo. Enough truth to be believable, but enough malice to be used for far worse purposes.

From a community perspective, the priority should be eliminating Democrat urban poverty plantations where criminals thrive, coupled with a renewed effort at the state and local level to mend trust with police. Until these things occur, Rule of Law and justice will not be served, and communities will continue to suffer.