Law Enforcement Reform is needed

[Johnny2X2X]

The police are part of a law enforcement system that has run astray in our country. Increasingly more brutal and forceful arrest techniques stem from the War on Drugs which is largely a war on minorities. I would love to see a candidate add law enforcement reform to their platform.

What would law enforcement reform look like? I have a few starting points.

1. The rules of engagement for deadly force must be changed. Not showing your hands is not grounds for being shot even if you may have a gun. Simply having a gun is not grounds for getting shot. In short, deadly force should only be used when the threat of death is imminent, ie someone has a gun in their hand and is raising it or pointing it at officers or other citizens. Hold Officers to the same standard as the rest of us in public.

2. When an officer shoots someone they get treated like a citizen who shoots someone. In other words, they get put in handcuffs and taken to holding until it gets sorted out exactly what happened. If it is ruled justified they can go home, but if it looks suspect or more time is needed they stay jailed just like any other person would be if they shot someone on the street. I don't think this would deter officers from practicing real self defense if their lives were truly in danger. I doubt you'll see an officer say, "yeah, it was him or me, but I let him shoot me because I didn't want to face the consequences

3. Immediately after every police shooting, a different agency takes control of the crime scene ASAP and investigation. This is the law some places already.

Police will kill 1000 citizens in this country this year. I realize my suggestions might cause several more officers to lose their loves and that is awful, but 1000 is way too much, that number should probably by closer to 100 if the measures above were implemented. The police basically shoot first now, and the only reason society cares now is the advent of cell phone cameras. Minorities see these videos and it simply confirms what they'e been experiencing from law enforcement for decades. You would be hard pressed to find a singe black person you know who has not been harassed or abused by the police, it's what they live with.

Obviously prison reform and court reform are needed too. No prisons or law enforcement agencies should be run for profit. And they should all be funded enough so that fines and property seizures are never part of their budget.

[tonyt53]

1. it is easier than this. Just use the same screening most state police departments use.

Rarely do we ever hear of any state policeman (trooper) being involved in these situations. The reason? They have better screening. They will never take a person that really really wants to be a cop.

[drray23]

2. Excellent suggestions.

I would add to this the need to completely revisit the training methods that are currently employed. At the moment, the focus is on having police officers forcefully assert control of the situation above all else. As such they usually degrade the situation instead of defusing it. They are taught to obtain compliance from the person they are interacting with within seconds. They start by raising their voice, and eventually throw you on the ground or worse if you do not comply within seconds. Never mind if you are deaf or medically impaired, you will get in trouble.

In turn, this particular emphasis on compliance attracts a certain type of people in the force. They end up so paranoid that they see everything as a threat, especially if your skin is not white.

this attitude of us versus them is what is at the crux of many of these incidents. It is hard to fathom otherwise how a broken tail light can lead to being shot.