I still maintain that if the FOP was made the sole liable party for court awarded damages, you'd actually see self-policing.
That last settlement shaving another $80/mo. from your retirement figures creates a natural motive to suppress or remove the "bad apples."
Hmm
I'm inclined to say it isn't really the officers fault because it's not really a case of a few "bad apples". There is clearly a systematic issue with how police are being taught to do their jobs. If you watch video's of police interactions the same basic pattern emerges almost every time, this isn't something that will come about because you have a few bad apples, it's something that comes about because police are being trained to operate this way.
Some examples
- look for any excuse to demand ID even when they are not entitled to. Usually this amount to some version of "I think you are suspicious"
- treat refusal to give them your ID as a) suspicious activity, and b) obstruction, even though it's neither.
- look for any excuse to detain people without arresting them, even if they have no lawful reason to detain that person. Usually this amount to some version of "I think you are suspicious"
- use "officer safety" as an excuse for handcuffing and being physical with detainees, even when such actions are clearly not required.
- Anything other then complete submission is treated as resisting arrest, justifying assault even when there is no cause to arrest or even detain the person.
- demand people answer questions even when they have no legal requirement to do so.
- treat refusal to answer questions as a) suspicious activity, and b) obstruction, even though it's neither.
-claim to be "investigating" even when demanding things like ID that have nothing to do with the "suspicious activity" they are investigating. Eg. once you can confirm someone is stopped for a valid reason you don't need to to see their ID to investigate why they stopped there.
What it all amounts to is exerting control over people and looking for an excuse to demand their ID so you can run it though police databases, even though stopping people and demanding their papers is a blatant violation of peoples constitutional rights. And, like I said the pattern is consistent enough that these are clearly things they are being trained to do, not just the result of a few bad apples.
If the officers are being trained to do this, the responsibility really does fall on the government that is training them and ultimately the taxpayers that vote for that government.
