@Aethelflaed If the OP has a specific problem with the police, such as if he thinks they treated him unfairly, then he should file a complaint and work that out with the specific officer that wronged him. It’s just plain offensive and rude and mean to walk around with a profane word on your shirt that is insulting to an entire group of people. There are reasons why some movies are rated R, and are off limits to children. Parents shouldn’t have to worry that some angry young man (or a whole bunch of people if everyone thinks this behavior is just fine) will be wearing profanities on their clothing in a public place. It’s just common sense and common decency not to do that (even though we all know it’s legal).
Would the OP think that it’s just fine to wear such a shirt into a church? What if his shirt said a similar thing, but it referred to Baptists and he wore that particular shirt to a Baptist church, or even just down the street. There’s no good reason for it. Everyone has already pointed out that it is legal but just because something is legal does not make that action appropriate in all settings.
I also never said that every single person on the police force is squeaky clean. That is why I am reiterating that if the OP has a problem with a specific officer, then he should try to solve that problem through the court system or by mounting a recall petition for the chief of police, if that is the person who caused him harm or by writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper in the town in which he was wronged.
I think the OP would be horribly offended if someone found out the names of his relatives and purposely wore shirts with that same profane word aimed at his loved ones. He is purposely setting out to insult and hurt people that he does not know for no apparent reason. If he has a real problem with the police then he should take legal action against them and not act like a childhood bully.
If he had that same shirt, only it targeted blacks or homosexuals or Mormons, or women, he would be likely end up getting screamed at or assualted, depending upon where he wore that shirt. The police are not likely to do that to him, but if he breaks a law, they are also not likely to be very polite to him or to give him the benefit of the doubt about anything.
I’m curious to know, and I hope the OP can share this info with us, why he wants to wear this shirt, and what problem he has with the police.