This is the second story like this coming out of Colorado I've read this month. There was that Atlantic piece about the guy who murdered/maimed two dog walkers with a gun he "borrowed" from a police buddy. The police officer seems to have resigned but is working in a different police department.
Honestly, the police culture in this count…
This is the second story like this coming out of Colorado I've read this month. There was that Atlantic piece about the guy who murdered/maimed two dog walkers with a gun he "borrowed" from a police buddy. The police officer seems to have resigned but is working in a different police department.
Honestly, the police culture in this country is so broken, I don't know how it can be fixed. Ending qualified immunity is probably the policy starting point, but between this and Uvalde and my local police department using rubber bullets to break up a campus snowball fight, I'm sympathetic (although not ready to embrace) the "burn it down and start anew" attitude towards a lot of police departments. Does anyone really believe that the department refusing to enforce red flag laws has the capacity to meaningfully change?
The bargain I'm willing to make is, require much longer training for police like Germany's three years, but make the training free provide the graduate works as an officer for at least, say, five years after graduation.
Also, pay them a lot more while abolishing the union. Basically make it a white collar job.
I'm a doctor. While it's correct that malpractice insurance raises the cost of medical care, I think that it does impose a degree of restraint upon providers that I see as totally lacking in the field of law enforcement.
When I apply for a license, I have to list every other state I've held a license, any lawsuits I've been involved in, and any complaint/licensure issues I've had in other states. These problem police officers though just flit from department to department wrecking havoc across town and county lines.
I think modern day policing is the equivalent of old-timey doctors prescribing barbiturates and cocaine, lopping off appendages with hacksaws, and shrugging off bad outcomes as God's will. What most departments are doing is totally divorced from data, unrelated to the outcomes the community wants, and is a poor return on investment (exhibit A: the Uvalde Swat team). If "higher premiums" be the cost of better policing, I say so be it. No field that has life and death power over people should be so immune from oversight and accountability.
My concerns about improving our law enforcement isn't about money, it's about the safety of Americans and our Constitution. Perhaps you care about those, too?
I have no reason to think Charlie does not. We can get better policing but it's going to cost us and you know how Americans hate taxes. That's what he's saying.
This is an unfair response. Charlie's comment does not in any way show that he cares about money more than the safety of Americans. He is simply making some good points about the unintended consequences of ending qualified immunity.
This is the second story like this coming out of Colorado I've read this month. There was that Atlantic piece about the guy who murdered/maimed two dog walkers with a gun he "borrowed" from a police buddy. The police officer seems to have resigned but is working in a different police department.
Honestly, the police culture in this country is so broken, I don't know how it can be fixed. Ending qualified immunity is probably the policy starting point, but between this and Uvalde and my local police department using rubber bullets to break up a campus snowball fight, I'm sympathetic (although not ready to embrace) the "burn it down and start anew" attitude towards a lot of police departments. Does anyone really believe that the department refusing to enforce red flag laws has the capacity to meaningfully change?
Duly edited
The bargain I'm willing to make is, require much longer training for police like Germany's three years, but make the training free provide the graduate works as an officer for at least, say, five years after graduation.
Also, pay them a lot more while abolishing the union. Basically make it a white collar job.
I'm a doctor. While it's correct that malpractice insurance raises the cost of medical care, I think that it does impose a degree of restraint upon providers that I see as totally lacking in the field of law enforcement.
When I apply for a license, I have to list every other state I've held a license, any lawsuits I've been involved in, and any complaint/licensure issues I've had in other states. These problem police officers though just flit from department to department wrecking havoc across town and county lines.
I think modern day policing is the equivalent of old-timey doctors prescribing barbiturates and cocaine, lopping off appendages with hacksaws, and shrugging off bad outcomes as God's will. What most departments are doing is totally divorced from data, unrelated to the outcomes the community wants, and is a poor return on investment (exhibit A: the Uvalde Swat team). If "higher premiums" be the cost of better policing, I say so be it. No field that has life and death power over people should be so immune from oversight and accountability.
My concerns about improving our law enforcement isn't about money, it's about the safety of Americans and our Constitution. Perhaps you care about those, too?
I have no reason to think Charlie does not. We can get better policing but it's going to cost us and you know how Americans hate taxes. That's what he's saying.
This is an unfair response. Charlie's comment does not in any way show that he cares about money more than the safety of Americans. He is simply making some good points about the unintended consequences of ending qualified immunity.