Good. Dow never knows what he's doing.

How can we attract men and women considering police as a career when they would be thinking about litigation and their lives being ruined the next they face someone endangering their lives and public safety?

1,

There are two different ways to deal with a problem.

To illustrate, let’s look at the flu. You can, if you favour the approach you described above, hire as many doctors and nurses as possible, open up flu clinics and hospitals on every street corner, with the sole purpose of treating people who already have the flu. You also compensate every business in the city who cannot operate, as their entire staff are sick with the flu. And you can fund the pharmaceutical industry to stock every store shelf everywhere with cold and flu over the counter remedies.

Or, you can adopt a systems approach. In this case, you spend one hundredth the amount of money on developing a flu vaccine during the summer, based on whatever is happening in Australia. You can hire public health nurses to vaccinate the population before the outbreak occurs, and public health staff to monitor the spread of flu through the area. You can also mandate sick leave so no business is outcompeted by a rival that does not offer sick leave.

Your approach is like the first option, because you think the only way to combat crime is to hire more cops, increase patrols and overt presence. This is the same approach we have used for decades, and it doesn’t work so great.

I propose a systems approach. You can’t shoot a hundred people if you can’t get a gun. You could maybe stab 10, but not 100, the way you can with an assault rifle. So, let’s ban guns. If the problem are repeat offenders, we need to isolate those individuals and analyze their lives to determine what commonalities exist- is it because they’re mentally ill and cannot get treatment, or is it because they’re uneducated and cannot get a good paying job, what is it? Until we do research, we cannot know, we can only guess, and guessing never works. It’s better to do research and find out, to dig deep into that population’s lives and look for things that lead them to this kind of life. Then, we base our solution on whatever the evidence suggests, even if that runs counter to our narrative or political opinion. If it’s a result of inter generational poverty, we can break that cycle by making education free to all residents. If it’s a result of childhood trauma leading to mental illness or brain damage, we can aggressively protect children from abuse by empowering DSHS to investigate claims. If it’s because of some other thing I or we haven’t considered yet, let’s get the evidence linking these persons to that thing,whatever it is and address it.

To attack the root causes of crime is to vaccinate those who would otherwise become ill with the disease that is violence.

I do not see these three as individual shooters in Pioneer Square on one unfortunate night. I see them as part of a group that behaves in predictable ways. All predictable behaviour can be redirected and neutralized, but only if you do the research to find out what is causing it.

“ Constantine’s original rules gave killer cops the option of declining to give testimony.”

WRONG Lester. For Christ sake! The fucking Constitution of the United States gives police officers the option of decking testimony.

“Killer Cops?” Regardless, they have constitutional rights like everyone else.

Decking=declining

Autocorrect is a MF

@5 -- which beats the Fuck outta the
Cops is NEVER WRONG! contingent.

Perfect, in our New Age of trump
Fascism.

The Stranger has long kept a close watch on our law enforcement, if anything they've been pretty quiet about since dominic holden left. I for one am glad to see Lester picking up the torch.

So the family of Damarius Butts is suing the city? While our spineless city will probably settle with these grifters, his family doesn't deserve a dime and this loser had it coming. He shot a cop after robbing a 7-11. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

@8 Well at least the family finally showed up. Might not be parent-teacher night, but close enough I suppose.

@10 -- Leaving it all up to the 'capabilities' of both side's attorneys...

Can't say I can get behind that.

Nah, let's have those hired to Protect us and Serve us
be held to a higher standard than, well, he's a Cop.

That's like saying, 'he didn't do anything Wrong --
he's the President!' Although, I can easily see
where one might've gotten the idea....

@10, 12 -- "Here in America anybody can sue anybody, which is why all this inquest nonsense is a waste of time and money." Let the damn lawyers sort it out, you said.

So -- no inquest; no 'nonsensical waste of taxpayer money' and good luck having the deep pockets (and slew of attorneys) you'd need to prove your case against the Policeman's Benevolence Ass'n in Civil Court.

So, basically, He's a damn Cop.
Whadda ya gonna do?

Respect for The Badge gotta go Both ways
Or it don't work either way.

@14 -- Right. Let the Attorneys sort it out.
You already said that already.

But thanks for the psa
We had NO idea.

@16 -- well, Kenney "Here in America anybody can sue anybody, which is why all this inquest nonsense is a waste of time and money" Mailman, were it up to you, looks like the answer's Yes:

Chickens.

"If the facts and the law are on your side,
you'll find a lawyer to take your case."

Your unbridled Faith in The System is no foolproof panacea.
And isn't Foolproof precisely what we're looking for?

This is people Dying.
For good reason?

That's what they're dying to know.

@19 -- perhaps you're both correct

and we need to re-think our Justice System

(and Fund infants and Mothers and childcare
and Education, Skills and Critical Thinking and Sex Ed Healthcare
and condoms and make, through providing Opportunity, drug addiction
a very rare, seldom-taken choice but you cannot do it by Defunding the Safety Net, Mr. president -- you must do the exact Opposite)

'cause, who's got time for that shit?

@20 -- No.
I'm saying cops don't get Carte Blanche
just 'cause they're Cops.

Perhaps I might settle for Equal Justice Under Law...

But they're also Employees, licensed to Kill;
To say they're legally in the same position as any Citizen
(a Citizen NOT required to conform to the City's Police Policies)
seems to make it an entirely different Ballgame.

And if the Police Union gets sole
discretion in defining the Rules
brother you can count me out.*

*that last part, John Lennon

"But they're also Employees, licensed to Kill... "

And well-schooled* in knowing When Not To.

*Excellent schooling/training MUST be Required
for all those licensed to kill members of the Citizenry.

btw -- are they still shutting off their Cameras?

Thanks for the Edification, Fax2
I shall peruse...