I think you are right that cops being paid a job should do it, at a tactical, day-to-day level without taking the inputs of things and worrying about things at that "higher paygrade" level. Johnny Cop should just do his job. It doesn't matter if Johnny Cops precinct is getting 100% of their budget funded or 90% or 50%; just do the job in front of you and don't worry about the inner-workings or political detail. If you are called to a scene to help someone who had a break-in at Good Ole Boy Blvd or if someone was assaulted Protester U, you respond and do your job dispassionately, in the same professional way. I think we are 100% agreed on that, right?
In other words, I'm not condoning that cops should extort to get what they want politically. I agree with you it's a thing that happens and is potentially happening.
What my post was saying, though, was that the opposite side of the coin is that there are people who are willing and will be disruptive-- from the law-abiding and peaceful protesters to the destructive, violent and criminal end of the spectrum-- in order to get their change enacted. Their basic extortion principal is, "we are going to disrupt the system until it changes (i.e. we get what we want) and then we will stop." which is extortion 101. It's "good extortion" though, as I mentioned in my post. It's the good kind. Just like "good trouble" is still trouble. Opposite side of the coin.
If that observation bothers you, then maybe sit the rest of this one out, my dude.