If the police ignore lawful direction ...

Rereading Gene Sharp's book "From Dictatorship to Democracy" I was struck by the following passage:

"Defiance strategists should remember that it will be exceptionally difficult, or impossible, to disintegrate the dictatorship if the police, bureaucrats, and military forces remain fully supportive of the dictatorship and obedient in carrying out its commands."

What particularly stood out was how this related to the decision of Justice Brown, reported earlier today, where the Court complained that the police could not be relied on to enforce Court orders. 

Now, to be clear, I do not see Canada as a dictatorship. But the techniques set out in Sharp's book apply to any governing structure. Once the police, for example, cease to follow the direction of authorities, the very heart of  governmental power is put at risk.  The "disintegration" of the State can follow rapidly.