It unfortunately comes from the top, its clear the police chief here values the blue line more than anything else, and any cop who won't think first of his fellow officers (over citizens) is a liability, not an asset. Not every town and county is like that, some have very good police chiefs and LTs and sergeants who instill the idea that citizens come first and life should be taken only under extreme circumstances, but that is sadly still the minority of police organizations in the US.
Probably also the reason why most people don't really feel like they can do anything, how do you go about replacing the entire leadership of a bad police organization? Thats a very daunting task and requires some brave people to step up and go against folks who can make life extremely difficult for you and your family.
The pension thing is a bit of a red herring though, the cop is 25 years old and was hired July 2015. I don't think you get much of a pension (any?) for 1 year of work.