8 years ago
4
Here’s a better way to punish the police: Sue them for money
Jon O. Newman is a senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The acquittal Thursday of another Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, like the acquittal 25 years ago of the Los Angeles officers who beat Rodney King, reveals the inadequacy of the criminal-law remedy. Suing the police for money under a strengthened federal civil rights law would be a better response to police misconduct.
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Actually, that hurts the taxpayers who have to pay for the settlements. Maybe if they made the cops pay it would be good.
That's not really an option either, since that's going to make cops adverse to doing their jobs. Putting pressure on cities to reform their police departments is the only way to go. Since we bought into the "tough on crime" rhetoric we've given our cops carte blanche to pursue criminals, and we now see where that leads. It's time to reign them in even at the risk of letting some criminals go free.
It would also help to have them go after real criminals instead of focusing on drug users.
So true.