Police Brutality-Solutions

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We are, hopefully, in the midst of a new episode of the Civil Rights Movement. Police have harassed and brutalized and even killed black men without consequence for too long. Some reforms that have been mentions are body cams and special prosecutors. I don't think the body cams will eliminate the problem. For every check in the system, there are ways to get around it. I do like the idea of special prosecutors. I have worked in the criminal justice system, and I know there is a special relationship between local prosecutors and the law enforcement community that places pressure on prosecutors to give cops the benefit of the doubt. However, I think there is something that is even more powerful. That is peer pressure. So many police departments have had the attitude of backing up their fellow officers no matter what, and viewing any criticism as a personal insult to the law enforcement community. I think that a change in culture needs to take place within some police departments. Police brutality needs to taboo within police departments. Officers need to shame their fellow officers when they step out of line and report them to authorities within the department. They do not need to stay quiet or cover up for bad officers.

As a black man who has experienced harassment, even false arrest, because of racism, I am very interested in this issue. I am curious, what do others think is a good solution to prevent police brutality and harassment?

I agree there needs to be solutions, racial profiling on the part of the cops is certiantly a large part of the problem. Though from have seen/read police brutality effects all kinds of people aside from black males, but certainly don't want to downplay that but it is important to address police brutality as a whole as well as the more specific problems to do with it such as racial profiling, I think the war on drugs is probably another factor seems much of the time they are more concerned with drug use than crimes that really hurt people....seems in my city they'd be more likely to gang up on a group of protesters and harass them than go find real criminals.

I can't quite imagine having a cop look at me and instantly catagorize me as a criminal needing to be taken down....due to skin color, that really is pretty f***d up. I have been sort of hassled by cops, but for different kinds of reasons, feel like I came a bit close to being arrested a couple times. Sometimes I think it would be better if cops did not have guns, but not sure that would be viable for all situations....aside from that though maybe there needs to be higher standards for becoming a cop to perhaps weed out the ones who would abuse their power. Also they need to stop that slap on the wrist for serious crimes bull-crap, if a cop assaults someone, murders them, murders someones dog or any other things where they cross the line they should have just as serious criminal charges as an average citizen. Obviously it is going to make people made when a cop kills someone where it wasn't necessary and then either get none or very minimal charges.

There is no unreasonable amount of such.

Media is whoring up the cases (even then, the cases they're choosing aren't pointing to brutality anyway).

You must live under a rock with your head in the sand, if you honestly do not think police brutality as well as police abusing their authority is not one of the major problems in this country.

You have statistics pointing to it being a problem compared to other English speaking countries?

That's what you have to show.

and...still is a problem regardless.

Proclaiming something to be a problem with no factual evidence is proclaiming that the sky is pink.

If I were to hazard a guess, the reason why there's a lot of police presence in certain areas is due to the areas themselves -- more police presence, more police "everything" (an increase in abuse for the simple reason there's more police there. Not that I'm saying police abuse is a problem. Abuse by common citizens is a million times worst, and that's the problem, even if it is low nowadays compared to the past).

Dillogic, are you even an American? How would you know what's going on in the streets of the U.S.?

Here is the solution to the problem.

Only blacks can be police.....perhaps.

First stop all of the gang shootings and pointing guns at policemen, then we can start talking about so-called "police brutality".

Do you honestly believe this horses**t? The majority of the people the police in the USA have killed in the past few months were unarmed and did not deserve to die. Eric Garner did not take part in a gang shooting or pointing a gun at an officer. He was killed by weak excuse of a human being who used his status as a police officer to murder him.

When a man says he can't breath and is continuously choked for no reason, that is brutality.

I figured this was a discussion based on the premise police brutality as well as police abusing power is an issue, there is plenty of proof that police brutality is a problem. Didn't know it was expected to be posted in this thread since its supposed to be about solutions...I think if one wants to debate if police brutality is a problem or not perhaps a new thread for that is in order.

For example the various videos of cops needlessly shooting peopels pet dogs...and that's just the tip of the iceberg, there is also that video I found of cops practically attacking protestors in the city I live around, I think there was something recent about someone being killed by a choke hold after indicating they could not breath to the cop and well I could keep going. Seems to me the problem is police abusing their power, I even had an incident where they abused their power on me(but not going to derail the thread as that is a long story). Also around Denver they hired a bunch of new cops to patrol a certain area I am quite familiar with, there was no need for it...waste of money and its mostly a bunch of new recruits who just got out of cop training so the young ones with the caulky attitudes who like the 'authoritarian' image. It certainly had nothing to do with more crime...more to harass the homeless and intimidate people.

And what do you mean abuse by the common citizen, seems its the common citizens that are more on the receiving end of the abuse.

So gang shootings and individuals who have pointed guns at cops...is an excuse for them to needlessly do that to citizens who aren't involved in such behavior? Just because there is gang violence and cops sometimes are also victims of it just like regular citizens doesn't magically turn police brutality and abuse of power into a non issue. Also why is it much of the time when a cop is found guilty of a crime they get a slap on the wrist compared to what a regular citizen guilty of the same crime would get?

Also when I talk of police brutality and abuse of power...its also all the stuff that never makes it into the mainstream media, hell if the only police brutality was that which makes it on the news then maybe I'd agree its not such a problem...but its the stuff that makes it onto the news as well as everything else. Now with the great idea of phones having cameras there is even more exposure to this sort of behavior since passerbys can get it recorded.