This is a well known thread in human history and those who watched the blockbuster movie 'Braveheart' might recall how the Lords of the land used their military forces and intimidating form to basically rape and pillage the people of their (allegedly) 'own country'.
Intimidation through implied violence has been the tradecraft of central authority since the first club's creation. Those 300+ may have been caught breaking the law yet how they were dealt with shows they were only doing what the department had expected. They probably felt, in probably all the cases that did not result in termination of duty, that the officer was just doing their job and keeping @ura-soul's quote in mind, maybe they were.