• sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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    17 hours ago

    The solution IMO isn’t to make a bunch of rules to try to make them act better, the solution is to increase accountability. That means:

    • end qualified immunity - when tried in court, they should be held to similar standards as citizens
    • change how investigations of police officers happens - AG role should change to protect the people, not the state

    At the same time, we should increase salaries of police officers to encourage good cops instead of power hungry cops, and perhaps have cash rewards for officers who turn in other officers for criminal violations.

    If we focus on laws to force police to act better, they’ll just give themselves a pass.

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        Again, I don’t think it really does.

        Let’s say I identify an officer that shot a pepper ball at a protester. Let’s say I report it to the news, file a complaint, and file a lawsuit. Here’s what I expect to happen:

        • news agency runs a small piece on the incident, perhaps naming the officer, perhaps not
        • police does an internal investigation and determines the officer was acting within their duties
        • lawsuit is dropped because I don’t have standing (I’m not the victim), and if I did have standing, the agency might get fined and the officer retains their position

        That’s not real accountability IMO, real accountability would result in the officer getting investigated by the AG or something and potentially jailed for using excessive force.