A coming police state

A police state. . Or not. How??? 

Today's technology seems to allow us to head towards a police state with surveillance cameras and drones and smart weapons and police in dramatic body armour. We appear to be living in movies such as Robocop or Blade Runner or many other similar science fiction/speculative fiction movies. 

There is a lot of fear going around and around in the media... both fake and real. The quantity of frightening news does not necessarily reflect reality and the true statistical risks yet people/we/I am afraid with at least anecdotal evidence. 

Thus it is easy for me to not be worried about surveillance cameras because I am law abiding and most people I know are law abiding and is privacy so precious? 

Interestingly .. are those who willing give away their privacy to the cameras the same people who will not register or allow background check for guns?

I am worried that a "benign" police state is developing and that at some point it will be corrupted and will no longer be a "benign" state. As was said in "Blade Runner": "the score, pal. You're not cop, you're little people!" The guns of the State... the weapons and information... in general the resources of the State surpass that of individual and even groups of gun owners. So WORRY!

And ask and if you can answer - how do we avoid the development of a Police State in these United States of America? 

The questions needs asking and answering as today we see powerful persons who have legitimate power attacking important parts of their own legitimating institutions of power. In movies and on TV we see legitimate police groups having standoff against each other. Jurisdiction disputes, who gets control over suspects/prisoners, who gets ALL the information, undercover operations with no good oversight, etc... etc.. Such is SCARY for a mere, regular citizen who pays for a lot of those police. AND THEN... there are standoffs between police of the state (federal, state, local) and police of corporations! CRAZY!

What can be done? Who is in charge? Who has the power? What buttons are available to whom? What might set off something catastrophic? 

It is either a matter of when or a matter of change... Changing something(s) so a police state is not necessary or possible.