61 Comments - Former Downstater - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:50 pm: Hold police officers personally liable for damages awarded by lawsuits resulting from their actions while on duty. - TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:51 pm: 1033 LESO program needs to be eliminated. This is the federal program that allows police department to purchase surplus military equipment. It is the largest contribution to the militarization of police forces. MAny cities take grant funding to enforce state laws, but then write tickets under local ordinances. This allows them to collect not just the grant money for enforcing state laws, but to collect up to 3X the fines when the state statute is written under an identical local ordinance instead. Change the above funding model to require any state grant money accepted has to be done in a way that enforces and tickets under state statutes, not local ordinances. Funding is where these issue have to be addressed on a root level. Too many police departments are used as funding sources for their communities, not public services. - Joey Twoshoes - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:54 pm: Limit fop bargaining power to just salary and benefits and limit qualified immunity. - RNUG - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:54 pm: 1) Civilian oversight boards with some authority. I realize this will be a huge ask in some cases communities. 2) More extensive training - d. p. gumby - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:55 pm: Maybe I’m ignorant, but I do not understand why police officers do not have to be licensed by the state the same way teachers, lawyers, hairdressers, real estate agents, etc. Establishing a disciplinary process that would impact on their ability to maintain their license to police would give a consistent method of regulation. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:58 pm: Stricter penalties more likely to result in termination for things such as: covering badge numbers and names, and bodycams and dashcams being “off” or tampered with. Officers should be made to verify that such devices are operable before each shift. Yes, malfunctions happen, but they should be logged and action taken against officers who have an inordinate amount of such malfunctions. - Angry Republican - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 1:58 pm: 1. Remove laws from city/county/state code. 2. Eliminate police union Law enforcement officers enforce all the laws that we the people have created. - The Dude Abides - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:00 pm: In Germany you have to go through 2 years of training before you can be a policeman. In the US about 5 months. They need to be taught how to deescalate a situation when tensions are rising. When an individual isn’t resisting there’s no need to put your knee on his neck after he’s already handcuffed and lying face down on the ground. I think the training these people get is insufficient and an overhaul on what’s being taught has to be implemented. - In 630 - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:02 pm: Use of force rules that require de-escalation. Training standards where de-escalation and mental health crisis intervention- core parts of the job- have time dedicated as training for self defense and weapons. Shifting police funds to emergency mental health response units/crisis response efforts. Mandatory time off +counseling for officers injured on a call. Debrief/counseling for their peers. (Officers get hyped up after an injury to self/peer and are more likely to screw up) State-wide licensing. Police departments have to carry separate liability insurance from the rest of the municipality, and no municipal self insurance for police claims. If elected officials won’t make their police act right, the insurer will. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:03 pm: And just after I post my comment about bodycams, I hear a Cook County Bond Court hearing (on youtube) where the PD said the arresting officer has a long disciplinary history and the fact that there was no bodycam video of the incident was consistent with this officer’s “M.O.” Simply, if you cannot do what your employer requires, you should not have the job. - Guy Probably - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:03 pm: 8 Can’t Wait has data driven reforms. https://8cantwait.org/?fbclid=IwAR2mrzTCYZyirfEowCtQLRXW-C1kXNUkvs3p0ZpSvW1-v6Qi4qB3MwKvOa8 Also, police training has to deal with de-escalation. I also read about social workers being sent to calls instead of police, and that seems to be a pretty good reform as well. - Tynie - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:04 pm: d.p. and I agree, but I’d take the licensing a step further. I’d make it so the licenses are part of a nationwide database, that keeps records on what causes license suspensions. That way, other jurisdictions can cross-reference it before taking transfers/new hires. (I.e. use the database information as supporting evidence for refusals on the transfers/new hires) If the database pings with news of a license revocation, other jurisdictions could use it as grounds to refuse, and send word so it creates a domino effect. I’m aware it may not seem like much, but it’s an idea on how to weed out cops who don’t need to be cops. - Just Observing - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:05 pm: === The pastors decried the mayor’s actions, saying that as an elected official he does not have police authority and was out of line for his actions. === I’m not supporting the mayor’s actions, but I thought mayors did have police authority. - Former Candidate on the Ballot - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:06 pm: Make the system easier to terminate and eliminate police officers who are problematic. - OneMan - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:08 pm: – A statewide repository for information about anyone who has worked in law enforcement. If anyone seeks a law enforcement job after having one in the sate the repository must be consulted, information shared and the previous departments must share all information they have about the candidate. No department should be able to claim ignorance about an officers previous work history in law enforcement. – Failure to reasonably intervene by an officer when a fellow officer engaged in illegal or dangerous activity should be a crime. - Excitable Boy - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:09 pm: End of cash bail, extreme overhaul of drug laws including the decriminalization or legalization of all drugs, community control of public safety funding at a neighborhood level, end to police ability to stop a person and run a background check because they “looked like they were up to something”. I could go on but that’s a start. - Just Observing - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:09 pm: There needs to be substantive, meaningful complaint processes. I know, from experience, having filed a complaint against a suburban deputy police chief, the police chief went out of his way to dissuade me from making and following through with the complaint and then ultimately refused to answer it at all. I had no recourse except possibly litigation (which I don’t even know what that would accomplish as the deputy chief’s actions were unprofessional but not criminal). - First Amdt Lawyer - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:11 pm: End immunity for police, prosecutors and other public officials. Juries of peers will then regulate. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:17 pm: Non-lethal apprehension and detention methods. No more choking suspects and other lethal tactics. - Beecher - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:18 pm: Better screening of applicants. Try to sort out the “problems” before they are hired and protected by the police unions. - Big Jer - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:18 pm: I read there was a surprising lack of rioting and violence by protesters, and police violence, in Camden, NJ during the recent protests. From what I read it is the result of significant training and minimizing use of force and deescalation training. https://www.policingproject.org/camden In addition from what I have read there needs to be a restructuring in holding the police accountable for improper behavior/ use of force/ shootings. From what I read, too many bad apples in police departments are protected by their unions, the courts, etc. It would be interesting to know the policies and behavior of the police departments in other countries. I read that during the COVD-19 lockdowns the Spain police went into neighborhoods to play music for residents to cheer them up. That would never happen here in the US now. https://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/video-spanish-policemen-sing-dance-in-streets-to-spread-cheer-amid-covid-19-lockdown/568775 - Mr. Black - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:23 pm: Strict penalties for not reporting abuse and harsh penalties for falsifying reports. This would help end the code of silence. - Keyrock - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:24 pm: Police departments and the State’s Attorney’s Offices need to take Giglio and Brady seriously and keep Giglio files on officers. Disciplinary files should never be purged. - Sterling - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:30 pm: Excessive force lawsuit settlement payouts should come out of police pension funds instead of municipal budgets. - Candy Dogood - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:34 pm: Produce a list of unlawful police tactics and make it a criminal to utilize those tactics. Make a law requiring specific applications of force result in immediate termination of the offending officer. Make an officer’s failure to report an unlawful use of force a crime. Treat tampering with dash cams, microphones, et al, as a crime. Destruction of digital evidence of police conduct by a police officer should be made a felony, like a specific and separate felony from the ones on the books about evidence tampering. - Shemp - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:37 pm: So, we’re all aware, under the current governor, the State cut training funds to local governments for police training, right? - Pundent - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:38 pm: Make the police more apart of the communities they serve as opposed to a para-military organization engaging with civilians. Demilitarize the police. We’ve equipped them with tools and weapons that far exceed the needs of ordinary policing. Provide the mental health resources to ensure that cops like Chauvin are not one encounter away from “snapping.” Eliminate the code of silence in all forms. Root out those that would tolerate, encourage, or perpetuate it at all ranks. - Jay Kay - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:38 pm: End the drug war. End no knock raids. End civil asset forfeiture. De-militarize the police. Alter training programs from: enforcement and protecting officers at all costs; to: protect and serve the populace. Allow officers to be held accountable for their actions in civil courts. - Joliet Orange Sox - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:40 pm: There’s a second video of the events immediately after the Joliet video. It shows police treatment of the two young men who interacted with May O’Dekirk. It can be found in the other videos posted by the same you tuber. Its thumbnail is a person in a neon green hoodie. It is also NSFW. - RNUG - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:41 pm: Someone the other day suggested that officers should have to carry their own libality insurance. That actually sounds like a reasonable idea, so let’s think about how that could be structured. Maybe the organization should pay each officer a fixed amount for their insurance based on some regional, state or national average. Anything over that level the individual would have to pay out of their own pocket. Hitting the bad cops in the pocketbook is going straight to the problem. You could even make the insurance payment 5% or 10% over the average, which would be an incentive of sorts. And it shouldn’t cost a lot of extra money because the organization can then move their blanket policy to a very high deductible / catastrophic type policy. The real question is how much liability insurance should each officer be required to carry? $10M, $25M, $50M or even $100M? - Benjamin - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:41 pm: Many good ideas here, but let me add another: consolidate small police forces. Tiny police departments with just a handful of officers are less likely to stay professional because of limited resources, and they’re very hard to oversee because there are so many of them. There are over 100 police departments in Cook County alone. By contrast, there’s something like 48 police departments in all of the United Kingdom, mostly organized along county lines. in rural counties, make law enforcement the primary responsibility of the county sheriff’s office. In suburban areas, maybe consolidate police departments along township lines. There’s no reason to have a tiny police department with four officers and a chief that wears four stars upon his collar like a general. - RNUG - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:42 pm: == Excessive force lawsuit settlement payouts should come out of police pension funds instead of municipal budgets. == No, they should come from the individuals responsible. - Merica - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:45 pm: - Statewide, publicly searchable database that includes all complaints, even if resolved in the officers favor. - Bonuses for community engagement and meeting certain benchmarks for avoiding excessive force complaints - Hire more minorities - eliminate or amend collective bargaining for police officers - Residency requirements for officers - Publish all salary, overtime and benefit data on an easily searchable system - strictly prohibit possession of personal cellphones to work, while allowing officers to make personal calls and texts on police cell - Adrien - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:45 pm: As others have said here, de-escalation training is essential. Former military who become law enforcement also need special training to ensure they approach the members of their community as human equals, not an opposition to be conquered or defeated. I think it’s easy for former military to subconsciously engage in military thinking when doing policing. We also need to ban local law enforcement from buying military-grade equipment (e.g. tanks and sophisticated weaponry) from the military. It only encourages the above; military thinking in law enforcement situations. Decriminalize drugs - drug use is a health issue, not a criminal issue. Provide a better mechanism for citizens to have meaningful oversight of police. - Shemp - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:49 pm: No wonder we can’t come up with a good answer. “Excessive force lawsuit settlement payouts should come out of police pension funds instead of municipal budgets.” Where do you think 90% of the funding for the police pensions comes from? Where do you think the shortfalls are made up from? “Better screening of applicants. Try to sort out the “problems” before they are hired and protected by the police unions.” We took the ability for cities and police chiefs to root out bad candidates by turning the hiring over to civilian fire-police commissions and then making it a point system that all but takes out the ability to throw out a potential bad seed. “Hold police officers personally liable for damages awarded by lawsuits resulting from their actions while on duty.” We can’t attract enough high quality candidates as it is even as police salaries continue to rise. Not saying this can’t be done, but we’re going to pay out the nose to retain candidates and that means pension costs spiral as well. “Make the system easier to terminate and eliminate police officers who are problematic.” It should be easier, but in a labor friendly State, I don’t see this flying. I am all for more “verbal judo” training and de-escalation, but this is a two part equation where we also work on why officers are finding themselves in these situations in the first place. A lot of accusations against the police have a lot more gray than the Floyd case. - Pundent - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:52 pm: Holding cops civilly liable probably wouldn’t be much of a deterrent. They’ve always faced criminal liability for acting beyond the scope of their powers. It didn’t stop Jon Burge or Derek Chauvin. And with the advent of camera phones its even more likely that bad actors will be caught on film. From a civil standpoint a plaintiff’s attorney is going to be more inclined to sue a police department and municipality simply because they will have the assets and/or insurance that would allow for a significant settlement. A street cop likely wouldn’t be able to get a policy beyond a million bucks or so and his first claim would likely be his last. - Truthteller - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:52 pm: Require ALL law enforcement, parole officers and prison guards mandatory random periodic drug testing, for illegal drug use, anabolic steroid use and negate any union contract from prohibition on such testing. 2 strikes you out of the job as well as any pension. - thechampaignlife - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:59 pm: Campaign Zero has some good ideas: 1. Decriminalization/End Profiling/Increase Mental Health Services 2. Increase Community Oversight/Representation 3. Limit Use of Force 4. Truly Independent Investigations 5. Increase Community Representation 6. Require Body Cams 7. More Training 8. End For-Profit Policing (quotas, civil asset forfeiture) 9. Demilitarization 10. Fair Police Union Contracts - Leslie K - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 2:59 pm: A return to DOJ using the consent decree process to reform departments (which of course won’t happen under this administration). Anger management training for officers. De-escalation training is important, but if an officer loses his/her temper, it goes out the window. Many excessive force incidents are the officer losing his/her cool. (Although I think there were different problems in the current case.) I would also like to see an analysis of the cases in which departments have tried to fire officers but courts have given them their jobs back. Officers need the due process of a fair investigation, but departments need to be able to get rid of problem officers. Where are departments failing in making their case? - GregN - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:07 pm: Nothing to add, but I’m very impressed at the great, thoughtful opinions in this thread. Was expecting a 50-50 split between reform suggestions and reactionary responses. Didn’t happen, fantastic. - A Jack - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:10 pm: A weapon should never be drawn to apprehend a fleeing suspect if that suspect does not pose an immediate danger to those present. We already have rules like that for high speed pursuit. It’s better for a suspect to temporarily escape than use weapons to apprehend a suspect that could put that suspect and bystanders in danger. - benniefly2 - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:12 pm: I am with gumby. They make barbers get a state license but not someone who works with firearms and has qualified immunity from a bunch of laws. - Leslie K - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:16 pm: A Jack–That would be Tennessee v. Garner. At least if you mean a firearm. Use of a CEW (Taser) in those instances is restricted by the policies of many departments (but not all; maybe something to consider in the legislature). - Former Downstater - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:37 pm: == No, they should come from the individuals responsible.== Globalizing the consequences for a “few bad apples” could help reinforce accountability of officers by fellow officers. - Earnest - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:37 pm: >1) Civilian oversight boards with some authority Agree. I’d start with trying to change behavior and not people’s hearts. There needs to be more accountability for bad behavior. This includes the good ideas above regarding tampering with electronic recording devices and clear prohibitions on types of force that can be used. I would add a registry so that bad apples can’t simply job-hop. - Leslie K - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 3:42 pm: Also: prohibit neck restraints of any kind. Illinois already considers direct pressure on the airway (e.g. choke holds) a form of deadly force, as does Minneapolis PD policy. But I was horrified to discover that Minneapolis PD trains in “neck restraints.” Chauvin’s actions looked like intentional murder to me, but apparently it may have been a misapplied (whether intentional or accidental) “technique.” http://www.minneapolismn.gov/police/policy/mpdpolicy_5-300_5-300 - MyTwoCents - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 4:09 pm: In line with the people mentioning training, I don’t know if any police departments in IL use “Warrior Style” training, but it should be banned: https://news.yahoo.com/george-floyd-death-in-custody-puts-spotlight-on-warrior-training-for-police-195640810.html There are some things that the State could do for police reform: 1) create a Police Integrity Unit within the State Police’s Internal Investigations division that is responsible for investigating all deadly force/excessive force incidents outside of Chicago. It could also handle internal affair complaints for smaller departments. Having an outside agency come in will help people have faith in the outcome. Any resulting prosecutions should also be automatically handled by an outside prosecutor, either a different county or the State Appellate Prosecutor. 2) Create a commission of outside experts to review and change the curriculum used to train law enforcement in Illinois to ensure police are adequately trained in community relations, use of force, race relations, etc. There have been a lot of good suggestions, but ultimately what is going to help the most is changing the face of police in America. It’s too white and too male. But that is going to have be a long term solution in terms of getting young kids interested in law enforcement, and making sure they get the education needed to then join the police department when they are old enough. I think this article really highlights well the problems with the current makeup of police in this country: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-police-see-issues-of-race-and-policing/ - thunderspirit - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 4:19 pm: 1) Eliminate qualified immunity. 2) Mandatory body cameras at all times while on duty. 3) Demilitarization — no departmental purchasing of surplus military equipment. - JSS - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 4:35 pm: Why not start with simple regulatory efforts? I can easily look up if my barber’s license has been suspended, but how do I find out if my neighborhood police officer has been suspended or otherwise disciplined. Pretty sure there is not a website for that. Why not start there? The state regulates hundreds if not thousands of industries and occupations. Even units of local governments are regulated by the state, we have certified local health departments yet no certified local police departments. We got body cams passed after LaQuan McDonald, but wait, police officers can just turn those off. Never mind. If there is not the political will by the G.A. to do something now, there never will be. They have and have had to tools to do something, but they don’t and the cycle will just continue. - Well for starters - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 4:52 pm: -Massive cuts in funding -Stop the process of letting the US Military give surplus equipment to local police forces. A small rural police department doesn’t need these tools of war, they just don’t. -Either A) Limit the amount of officers who have guns by about half or B) completely and totally revamp the training program for becoming a police officer. -Get rid of cops who have, say, a dozen or more complaints about excessive force. -Defund the police in a major way. NYC comptroller announced a plan to cut $1 billion from the police department, I think that’s going to be the only way we can get through to some of these police departments. We can’t just keep giving them blank checks and then doing nothing when they abuse the resources we give them. Then generally, something that is not easily made into policy, the entire hyper-aggressive culture of police needs to go. We can’t keep hiring police officers who get a modicum of power and start behaving like no rules apply to them. The number of police officers I know who routinely break traffic laws, drink and drive, and are generally terrible people is startling. Not unlike a a parent to a toddler who is testing the boundaries of what they can do without getting in trouble, we need to get stricter with them. This can’t go on any longer. - Jocko - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 5:03 pm: Along with what others are saying (and when feasible), require officers to spend at least one hour outside their vehicle walking in the community. This might help to reduce this ‘us versus them’ mentality. - Veil of Ignorance - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 5:34 pm: Fully back 8 Can’t Wait and Campaign Zero recommendations, many of which could be moved via state law. Specifically, I would love for us to take a hard look at minor criminal offenses and associated enforcement data and strongly consider re-classifying/eliminating them or removing criminal penalties which would allow for alternative non-police ways of addressing. Also, the power of police unions must be limited (the ONLY time you’ll find me not on the union’s side) and we need stronger licensing and training system. - Payback - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 5:37 pm: “…create a Police Integrity Unit within the State Police’s Internal Investigations division…” Wrong. Create a Police Integrity Unit within the Attorney General’s office that investigates use of force incidents. Police cannot police themselves. Add police crimes to the statewide grand jury act so the AG can directly indict police from Springfield, independent of county State’s Attorneys. Mandatory Body Cams for all police on duty at all times, with felony penalties for deleting/altering footage. Which could have already been placed in Kwame Raoul’s Body Cam bill in 2015. Make it a crime for police to fail to report any violation of state or federal law by other police. Use the system against itself, instead of relying on the code of silence. Dozens of cops, lawyers, prosecutors and judges knew that Jon Burge was torturing suspects for years. - Veil of Ignorance - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 5:42 pm: Big one I forgot: Ban police departments from using ticket or arrest quotas to evaluate the performance of police officers. Instead, create new metrics that encourage the best practices evidence shows actually improve public safety. - Leslie K - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 5:57 pm: ===Big one I forgot: Ban police departments from using ticket or arrest quotas to evaluate the performance of police officers. === That’s been state law for over a year now. Please keep up. http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/006500050K11-1-12.htm - RNUG - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 6:37 pm: Rich, I don’t know if it is my phone acting up but I don’t see my longer post expressing how a police department might move to having each officer carry liability insurance instead of the organization having to do so. Didn’t think I used any banned words … - Tynie - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 7:10 pm: RNUG: I’m on the mobile version for this site, and that comment comes up as posted at 2:41 p.m. You may want to check it the same way I just did. - RNUG - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 9:22 pm: Tynie, thanks. Sometimes my phone gets flaky and doesn’t show some of the posts. If I wait an hour or two, it usually shows up. Guess I need to flush the browser cache or phone cache again. - Tynie - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 9:26 pm: RNUG: No problem. I’d clear both caches you named, and the mobile browser app one, though. You may think it’s tedious, but that’s how I’ve fixed the glitch you had happen when it’s happened to me. - Thomas Paine - Thursday, Jun 4, 20 @ 10:55 pm: I would like to see a requirement that every police authority adopt standards similar to the way we required public bodies to adopt ethics reforms. One provision ought to be that the reforms be incorporated into new or revised police contracts. I like the idea of requiring an associates degree for new hires, I think the state ought to provide a pay bump for that. Degree or not, hiring for any law enforcement position ought to include a social media background check, and three references who have known the applicant for atleast five years, and atleast one of whom identifies as being of a different race than the applicant. Let’s amend the criminal code to add tampering with, disabling or blocking a police officer’s body cam, name tag, or shield to the definition of “obstruction of justice” and start charging these officers with felonies. Because let’s face it, an officer who puts duct tape over his badge so he cannot he identified is sending a message he can beat you silly and there is nothing you are gonna be able to do about it after. If your thinking “Tom, a felony seems stiff for duct tape.” Remember that a felony conviction means loss of pension benefits…no one who shows up to a public rally with their name tag covered and body cam disabled should be banking on a government retirement. I assure you once they realize their pension is being placed in jeopardy, they will realize this is no laughing matter. And right now, the bad apples are still laughing. - Tynie - Friday, Jun 5, 20 @ 8:59 am: ==tampering with, disabling or blocking a police officer’s body cam== As I understand it, bodycams are department issue equipment. So, it may be possible to make the list I quoted worthy of a destruction of government property charge. That’s a class 1 Felony, and would give prosecutors a bit more variety for charges in cases against bad apple cops who do it. Either way, it’d follow Thomas’s logic on the felony/gov’t retirement angle, and quell some of the laughing he mentioned. Source for the charge-related information: https://www.srhunterlaw.com/Criminal-Code-of-1961-Article-21-Damage-to-Property Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.