Policing in the US is fundamentally broken and has been for decades. Many police forces are lawless and unaccountable. Our military defer to civilian authority but our police do not. 1/
Police and prosecutors who tamper with, plant or suppress evidence should receive mandatory 20-to-life sentences. Most police should not have guns and should only use non-violent methods of subduing a suspect. 2/
Having a body camera off during a stop or an arrest should be grounds for termination, period. All police should be under independent civilian review that includes elected community members at all times. 3/
Police who are found to have used inappropriate or uncalled for force of any kind should be fired immediately. There should be a national database of police fired for cause and they should be prohibited from working in law enforcement anywhere. 4/
The entire investigatory approach of police should be thoroughly revised to reflect the inaccuracy of witness testimony, the inability of most people to determine who is lying, to forbid the use of incentives to get incriminating testimony. 5/
Just so much needs to be changed. Current serving police should have to reapply for their positions after retraining and after their forces are systematically changed and reduced in size.
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