There is an easy way for cops everywhere to lower the tension with the community

[Stinky The Clown]

Instead of closing ranks when one of their own turns out to be bad, choose to close ranks to squeeze the bad cop out.

Self police.

Shun bad cops.

Expel the 'roid raged.

Discard the cowboys, rambos, hot shots, and tough guys.

Let fellow officers do it. Let the police unions do it. Show that they're not at war with the community.

For every cop who sees every traffic stop for a busted taillight as a possible terrorist attack in progress, needing pulled weapons and lots of shouting, there should be a cadre of fellow officers who figuratively slap him on the back of his head and throw him out of the club.

It is possible that, someplace down the line, the community will stop protecting its own bad actors. But the cops have to go first. Really. That's where it needs to start.

D E - E S C A L A T E

[tonyt53]

1. This can happen starting immediately with new hires. use the same screening as most state police use

Rarely do we ever hear of a state trooper being involved with these types of situations. They are better screened. They screen out those people that want nothing more than to be a cop and carry a gun so they can have power over people. They might have a tough time keeping their forces filled, but at least some sanity would be restored.

[drray23]

3. That would be a good start.

I think that the training is the biggest issue. I know that it changed over the decades. now the emphasis is not in defusing situations, it is to take control of it. By that they mean speak with authority, even yell at people and ratchet it up if they do not obey within seconds. Do not listen to what they say, just make them comply with what you say. It's impossible to have an argument with a policeman. They will see that as a challenge and slam you to the ground or worse.

[backscatter712]

10. Exactly. Too often, you see the opposite.

Oakland, CA, at one point, recruited good ol' boys from the Deep South to be cops - they deliberately wanted racist shitheads.

I wonder how it is in Maricopa County, under Joe Arpaio?

"Sorry Mr. Johnson. We've checked your background, and found that you do not have a history of domestic violence, and feel you won't be a good cultural fit in our department."

[groundloop]

12. Also, I wonder if training has taken a hit because of budget cuts

You're absolutely correct, state troopers have a much better record of dealing with difficult situations than local police/sheriffs. I don't have any proof to back this up, but I have to wonder if the process of screening applicants and training them has taken a hit in recent years because of tax cuts and the resultant budget cuts.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Drag that old copy of Serpico out of the bin and watch it...

That was from the 70's.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070666/

Police corruption and coverups are not new things, and people start to get defensive.

Your ideas are good, but...

[rock]

4. You're asking them to change their culture

A sub-culture really. In any case all cultures are highly resistant to change, for an obvious reason: if a culture were to be easy to change it would disappear very quickly. The only thing that keeps a culture in existence is that resistance.

[floriduck]

5. Exactly. And the police union guys are horrible in matters like this. They would target any

officer who tried to clean up their ranks. Of all unions, police unions are the worst.

[meow2u3]

7. Damn straight they should change their culture

and they should be dragged kicking and screaming in the process.

Police culture is the problem nobody seems to want to talk about regarding rampant police brutality.

It's rife with a tribal mentality depicting themselves as the good guys and citizens as the bad guys. They think they're under siege even in the face of evidence to the contrary. Personally, they're no better than the mafia in that whistleblowing is punishable by the death of one's career or even actual death. So, police culture has devolved to the level of secret societies at best or organized crime syndicates at worst IMO.

[BlueCaliDem]

6. Excellent analysis and suggestions to deal with this escalating problem with our LEOs.

I agree 110%. No one can police the police without help from police unions who shield and protect their boys in blue. And they don't have to do much - just stand back and stop overprotecting and allow the higher-ups in the chains of command do what they're supposed to do.

It's the only way to DE - ESCALATE this frightening problem in our police corps.

[WiffenPoof]

8. I would suggest that cops start...

...walking a beat again. Get out of there police units.

[Bettie]

9. I agree

but have very little hope of any change for the better.

If anything, this incident will cause them to close ranks and ratchet up the violence against perceived enemies. Sadly, that means the people of the communities they are supposed to serve, specifically those who are not-white.

[Cosmocat]

11. Yeah

I have been saying this sadly now for years.

MOST law enforcement are good people, but even the good ones enable the bad ones by closing ranks as you noted.

There has to be a way to cut through it and engage law enforcement effectively to help weed out the ones who are on the edge and vulnerable to doing the kind of abhorrent things that we see in the instances leading up to this.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. The nation is sharply divided

even separate threads here on DU begin from opposite positions

De-escalation is a great start, communities should de-escalate too

Obama's 2014 task force recommendations need further publicity

I do understand the cops feel outgunned; it wasn't this way 25 or more years ago

I wonder if public service announcements on the 'rules of engagement' would help

some citizens aren't aware of what to expect with traffic stops for example

[philosslayer]

14. It's a two way street

What about the "snitches get stitches" mentality in many communities? "instead of closing ranks when one of their own turns out to be bad, choose to close ranks and squeeze the bad actor out". Do you agree?