What are the effects of state repression on public perceptions of police? And to what extent are these effects uniform or conditional on individuals’ loyalty to political authorities? I argue that repression by the police negatively affects how people evaluate the police, especially among those who do not support the ruling party. People who oppose the regime are more likely to fear the police following a repressive event relative to regime supporters. To test this argument, I leverage a unique research design opportunity that emerges from the social media tax protest led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (also known as Bobi Wine) and subsequent selective repression by the Uganda Police Force while a nationally representative survey on police and security was being administered in Uganda. I demonstrate selective repression of protesters decreased support for the police. These effects are largely driven by political loyalty; repression has a stronger effect on how members of the opposition evaluate the police relative to incumbent supporters.

国家镇压对公众对警察的看法有什么影响？这些影响在多大程度上统一或以个人对政治权威的忠诚为条件？我认为，警察的镇压会对人们对警察的评价产生负面影响，特别是在不支持执政党的人中间。反对政权的人相对于政权支持者而言，在镇压事件发生后更可能担心警察。为了检验这一论点，我利用了一个独特的研究设计机会，这种机会是由罗伯特·卡亚古兰尼·西塔穆（Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu）（也称为波比·酒）领导的社交媒体税收抗议活动以及随后由乌干达警察部队进行的有选择性的镇压以及全国性的警察与安全调查所产生的。在乌干达进行管理。我证明对示威者的选择性镇压减少了对警察的支持。这些影响在很大程度上是由政治忠诚驱动的；镇压对反对派成员如何评估警察相对于现任支持者的影响更大。