I would rather make the police union responsible. It's the only union Republicans care about and the only union that exists in part to oppress union organizers.
I guess I'm just not happy with the idea of some insurance company taking the hit. It still doesn't hit cops directly enough even if their rates go up. Start making the union pay and maybe the union will make their members get in line.
The advantage of having officers carry malpractice insurance is the same as it is with doctors. Eventually, the premiums to insure a bad officer get so high, no one is willing to pay them. Or, they simply uninsurable, as no company is willing to take on the risk. It also means there will be a large and politically connected organization (insurance companies) which have a financial interest in collecting data on bad police officers. Sure, that should be the government's job, but since we know that's not happening, why not exploit corporate greed for a positive thing?
We say ACAB because any high school kid knows what lunch table has the bullies. When it's matters of life/death/power imbalances, there is a moral obligation to sound the alarm on that table.
But no cops ever seem to call out the psychopaths with guns amongst them. And in a position of power, that is just as bad.
The second the police union has to start footing the bill, you'll suddenly see a whole lot of cops being fired and accountability for behavior materialize out of the ether.
You'll also see a whole lot of violence in the streets, too, to be clear. Cause if theres one things cops just cant fucking stand, its being held accountable, and they'll burn the entire system down to prevent it..or, failing that, out of spite.
The second the police union has to start footing the bill, you'll suddenly see a whole lot of cops being fired and accountability for behavior materialize out of the ether
Fat chance. What's more likely is that you'll see new laws pop up making it illegal to sue the police. These dirtbags aren't giving up their control.
They don't need to incentivize coverups. They happen all the time regardless. And body cams make it a lot more difficult. Body cams conveniently not working at a specific time doesn't look great either. Of course, cops generally get off anyway.
Even more than pretty much every time a cop anywhere in the country seriously fucks up? Or have you heard a lot about cases where cops are open about some wrongdoing they were responsible for lately?
"More coverups" does not equal "police state." They can't cover up more than they're already trying to cover up because, again, they try to cover it up every single time.
There are different levels of trying. Any criminal tries to cover up their crimes, some go to more extreme measures than others. For example, when you raise the penalty for rape to the death penalty, more rapes turn into murders.
Im not saying that you shouldnt punish police violence harder, I just think that there is always more cover up possible. The fact that people are even allowed to talk about this, shows that more Cover up is possible.
Iran incentivized coverups in a very different way. I see that that didnt come across.
Once again: if you think, it cant get worse in the coverup department than america, you are wrong.
Trump may be a lot of things, but I don't suspect he's into being dominated or shamed sexually. That's why the Russian pee tapes always seemed so outlandish. And now that I think about it, I bet the cops aren't into it either, the only corporal punishment they're dishing out is to their wives.
So if a worker somewhere breaks something, every single employee should be held responsible for that?
I'll say the same thing as Flying Squid with different words: How many times have you seen a cop in any discussion, offline (edit: online) or in person, be pissed off about a shitty cop? If your answer is anything more than "almost never" I'm going to be fairly skeptical.
Police have made it clear that they will do whatever they want, and fuck what we think, even when there is clear video evidence.
You have a group of folks with immense authority, a criminal justice system that elevates their word and testimony above that of others, and a literal license to kill, which seems not to be made up of particularly compassionate people, or many who can think much beyond "hit it, tase it, or shoot it until it does what I want." And who trains them in and reinforces this behavior? The other police they work with.
Why wouldn't they keep doing what they do when they have this scam in place: Taxpayers pay police budget --> police fuck people up --> Taxpayers pay the inevitable settlement which includes a gag order for victims and no admission of wrongdoing --> Police have no incentive to change their behavior, so don't --> Taxpayers pay police budget...
Where's the incentive to change policies and procedures? They've shown public trust and opinion isn't something they value, so what's left?
Yeah, the taxpayers should be completely off the hook!
Now, how do we best ignore the overwhelming support taxpayers have for police, police brutality, and for supporting corrupt sheriffs that regularly get reelected?
I get your point, I just disagree that taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for all the black people we've killed and the families we've destroyed.
I'm not a fan of the continuous buck passing that seems foundational to American culture and I don't believe "making police unions pay for it" will solve a "problem" that most Americans support. If I had to guess, cops would likely just rob from more black and brown people to make up for the loss
I don't really see the comparison you're trying to make. My point wasn't based solely on the support they receive. Feel free to ask any questions if you'd like to understand what I'm saying/trying to say.
That said, I think insurance makes a bit more sense, but as I responded to another comment, I don't think it makes sense for Americans to use taxpayer money to train a racist agency to brutalize black and brown (and increasingly poor white) people for profit and then wash its hands of all the blood that results and pretend it's just the cops that are the bad guys, like they weren't trained to act the exact way they behave
I mean, aren't all racists, sexists, religious-extremists, and the like, brainwashed?
I don't typically feel it's right to "blame", for lack of a better term, poor or stupid people for their financial issues or their inability to acquire and apply new knowledge, so I'm inclined to answer yes to your question. However, I also don't support "brainwashed" people that hurt, harass, or injur others. I can, and do, have compassion for them to try and understand how they came to believe, speak, and behave the way they do, but they don't get a pass. They're still responsible for changing their beliefs, the way they speak, and they way they behave.
