Another day, another police beating in America

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Not to be too circular, but it's pretty anarchaic to get rid of the police force.

Only if you believe that a majority people hold to the social contract only on threat of violence. This is false on its face I think.

And again, the idea is to replace the police with something more functional. We can agree that there are times that armed state response is necessary, but this doesn't mean that all state actors involved in community safety and law enforcement need to be armed and ready to enact violence.
Think of it this way: we might need a SWAT team in case of heavily armed criminal behavior, but the average ticket writer, traffic officer, security at public events, or responder to domestic dispute or public misbehavior doesn't need to be armed and read to react in the same way as SWAT.

Oh definitely. I was just remarking that having a public security force instead of a private one is a pretty critical societal check.

[Captain Crimson]

You can argue neither of these instances track well to the emerging demand for police abolition, which is true... but the principles that lead to those outcomes still apply. The demand isn't to remove the police and replace them with *nothing*, but to remove the poisoned, rotten departments in place now and replace them with something that *works*: less violent, less armed, and more specialized for the tasks each branch is meant to solve, and equipped to address societal problems in a real way.

Not to be too circular, but it's pretty anarchaic to get rid of the police force.

Yes, and when the average voter hears this, it's going to lock them up. It will drive them over to Mr. 45 in droves, because he is at least promising law and order. And we are smart enough to know the state is always going to be here, and without a strong police force, even if you want to argue they have crossed the line and most will admit there are myriad ways they've failed in their duties... well, it's just chaos. Again, I think that's what the top dogs want. Chaos. Vigilante justice. No thanks.

In droves? nnnnnnnnna.

The lizard brain of America, who just want easy sound-bytes, will hear "disband police" and flock over to Mr. 45's "law and order." Don't underestimate it. Even attempts to appeal to centrists is going to be an uphill battle with someone like Mr. Biden. I think he may be the weakest candidate the democrats have ever put up. Gonna be a messy year...

[J!!]

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley propose creating a national database of cops with a record of misconduct

The National Police Misconduct Database and Transparency in Hiring Act would create a public, searchable repository of police misconduct.

The bill was announced Friday by US Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, and enjoys the support of Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Last year, an investigation by USA Today uncovered no fewer than 32 people "who became police chiefs or sheriffs despite a finding of serious misconduct, usually at another department."

If a police officer behaves badly in one place, new legislation would let police departments elsewhere — and the US public — know all about it.

"We can't legislate away racism or wave a wand to change culture," US Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, said Friday, "but we can make sure that there are mechanisms in place to hold people accountable for wrongdoing."

The National Police Misconduct Database and Transparency in Hiring Act, introduced by Merkley with support from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, calls for creating a publicly searchable repository of law enforcement officers who engaged in misconduct. That includes the inappropriate use of force or discrimination.

Human Rights Watch called for such a database more than two decades ago, arguing that a misconduct tracking system would help "prevent officers who have committed abuses and have been dismissed from one department from being hired as law enforcement officers elsewhere."

As Warren argued, "This national database of police misconduct should already exist."

The problem is not theoretical.

As USA Today reported last year, police who are disgraced in one jurisdiction may not just end up as regular beat cops elsewhere. The news organization — without the help of a national database — uncovered 32 people "who became police chiefs or sheriffs despite a finding of serious misconduct, usually at another department." Some had records of domestic violence, for example, while others improperly withheld evidence.

A searchable database would allow members of the public to verify for themselves whether a local police officer meets their community's standards. It could be, according to Merkley, "a critical tool for accountability — one of many reforms we need to honor the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others who should be with us today."

https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-merkley-propose-creating-national-database-cops-record-misconduct-2020-6

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

You can argue neither of these instances track well to the emerging demand for police abolition, which is true... but the principles that lead to those outcomes still apply. The demand isn't to remove the police and replace them with *nothing*, but to remove the poisoned, rotten departments in place now and replace them with something that *works*: less violent, less armed, and more specialized for the tasks each branch is meant to solve, and equipped to address societal problems in a real way.

Not to be too circular, but it's pretty anarchaic to get rid of the police force.

Yes, and when the average voter hears this, it's going to lock them up. It will drive them over to Mr. 45 in droves, because he is at least promising law and order. And we are smart enough to know the state is always going to be here, and without a strong police force, even if you want to argue they have crossed the line and most will admit there are myriad ways they've failed in their duties... well, it's just chaos. Again, I think that's what the top dogs want. Chaos. Vigilante justice. No thanks.

In droves? nnnnnnnnna.

The lizard brain of America, who just want easy sound-bytes, will hear "disband police" and flock over to Mr. 45's "law and order." Don't underestimate it. Even attempts to appeal to centrists is going to be an uphill battle with someone like Mr. Biden. I think he may be the weakest candidate the democrats have ever put up. Gonna be a messy year...

Nobody's worried about those chuds. Christ you have to have integrity behind your proposals and not hollow them to appease people that can't hear past sound-bites. The thing is those chuds are probably already voting for Trump 4 years ago so who cares?

[Madner Kami]

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley propose creating a national database of cops with a record of misconduct

Good. There are issues with privacy and giving people second chances (e.g. this record needs to be only available to a very limited amount of people), but heyho. A cop that can't cop, should not cop.

[CmdrKing]

https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-merkley-propose-creating-national-database-cops-record-misconduct-2020-6

Not an effective step on its own, although yes part of one proposed solution. You can't just make the database and trust departments will actually consult it, because most departments are corrupt. It's a resource for an outside accountability measure to use, but not a tool unto itself.

The most common proposal I've seen is requiring individual cops to carry malpractice insurance similar to doctors. Problem cops become uninsurable and cities start firing them being the logic. It'll be slow going though, which means more lives lost, and it may not work anyway: a lot of municipal budgets look like a goddamned dril tweet ( https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/someone-who-is-good-at-the-economy-please-help-me ) and they may well just eat those costs over and over to keep the worst offenders as the cops close ranks.

But it's a possible solution... as long as the database is coupled with other measures.

[Captain Crimson]

I'd support a police database. I think we've reached that point.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

I'd support a police database. I think we've reached that point.

People are going to think that you're making a base with Datas from Star Trek as a police force, then they're going to vote for Trump.

[Captain Crimson]

I'd support a police database. I think we've reached that point.

People are going to think that you're making a base with Datas from Star Trek as a police force, then they're going to vote for Trump.

OK, I see what you did, and I still laughed.

[Draco Dracul]

Back in the sixties, you'd be one of those people who calls soldiers baby-killers, wouldn't you? These cops are humans and, sadly, thanks to the great politicians in your country, not exactly highly trained professionals. And even those can snap.

And in the sixties you'd be siding with cops as they released attack dogs and riot hoses on civil rights protesters.