That we have a Cop Problem is obvious. How to fix it, not so much.

The problem – a chunk of it, at any rate – derives from

an overweening postmodern concern for the “safety” of cops
to the detriment of those they (ahem) serve.

Plus what’s known in the lawyer game as qualified or (worse) sovereign immunity. It means they get away with doing things that would ruin ordinary people who did exactly the same things.

It’s a crazy idea.

If, that is, you don’t want to end up with a Cop Problem.

Take any group of people and make it known that even when they do something criminal, they will be held less responsible for the doing of it –
and what do you suppose is likely to happen?

Bingo.

And, duh.

How about holding them – if they’re cops –more responsible?

Applying unto them a higher standard?

There is something ludicrous about the current dynamic – which (as an example) places exacting legal obligations – and repercussions – on the shoulders of ordinary citizens who possess a permit to carry a gun. If such a person so much as reveals the gun in a threatening manner it is brandishing – a felony and as serious as cancer. If an ordinary citizens ever fires that gun he had better be able to adduce compelling evidence that he did so under the most extreme duress, his own life in clear and present danger.

That he felt skeered won’t cut it.

Or, how about striking another person – including minor children?

A parent who smacks a kid on the rump to discipline him opens himself up to child abuse prosecution. What happens a cop body slams a minor child?

Is there any sane reason why a lesser standard should be applied to cops? Who are after all trained and supposedly more able than ordinary folks to exercise judgment as well as restraint?

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