People are really fixated on police in this thread and in protests when I feel most of the vitriol should be directed at those in charge of prosecuting them and those who can influence prosecutors (i.e. mayors, governors etc). They are the enablers. Police killed 19 unarmed white ppl in 2019 versus 9 black people, the issue is that we’re not prosecuting them at the same rate (I assume, don’t have the numbers). Idk if these numbers include off duty officers like the dumbass Dallas lady cop that shot a man in his own home.
I've mentioned districts attorney several times in this thread and the forget Missouri cops thread. Prosecuting will absolutely help, but it isn't going to fix anything. The reason that prosecution rates are so low is because the DAs need the help of police to do their jobs and they are rightly afraid of retribution if they keep charging cops for beating people's ass, stealing people's crap, maliciously charging people, and of course killing people. If we're looking to clean up cops, it starts with mayors and city councils, they are the ones who employ the cops. The protesters now going to these mayors houses have the right idea. The cities these cops work for have to approve all the acquisition of the military grade equipment. The cities hire and fire the cops.
As I've said before it's astounding that the chiefs in New York and LA haven't been fired. De blasio hasn't fired his chief yet because he won't get reelected if he does, he's banking on blue lives matter having a longer memory than his citizens who oppose the constant abuses by his department. Eric Garcetti hasn't fired the chief because the police have been in his families life for the entirety of it.
Yeah that seems like two sides of the same coin to me. The protests are obviously directed to more than just police themselves, and it’s obvious to anyone who thinks about it for a few seconds that change has to come from above.
It’s basically what I said earlier. The protests have certainly been successful at getting attention. If they’re going to actually accomplish their goal it’s mainly because people are going to start looking at their local officials and asking what their DA, mayor, etc. is doing to actually keep their community safe. (Could also be if the Supreme Court reconsiders doctrines protecting cops, which is starting to be rumored)
I think by now it’s pretty commonplace for DA candidates to get asked about their stance on prosecuting low level drug offenses, but “what are you doing to improve policing and community relations” should definitely be a major focus.
“Replace all cops” is a fantasy—and a bad one at that. I think that pretty much all jobs are the same, you’ve got some great people, some shitty people, and some people who mainly just want to collect a paycheck. That third category is always the biggest. If you sincerely focus on getting rid of the shitty cops and raise the standards, the remaining cops will do just fine.
