There’s a difference between being given special powers and being above the law. Special powers are exceptional privileges that are limited in scope. Being “abo

There’s a difference between being given special powers and being above the law. Special powers are exceptional privileges that are limited in scope. Being “above the law” means you’re exceeding even those privileges, but no one will hold you accountable. Let’s take your red light example. Cops are allowed to go through red lights when they’re responding to an emergency and they’ve put on their lights/sirens. That’s a reasonable special power. In practice, what I see happening is either (a) police briefly turn on their lights/sirens as they cross the intersection, then immediately turn them off, or (b) police simply run the red light.