Congressman Guest Participates in Hearing on Law Enforcement Officer Safety

[@loganskiwyse7823]

When you put officer safety ahead of the public than the police have lost all credibility.

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

In most cases, prosecutors aren't able to even charge officers that have committed crimes because qualified immunity protects them, so rogue prosecutors are not an issue. The whole the officers were released without charges or the charges were dropped is because of this most often. The fact of the matter is that police departments shouldn't be investigating themselves for if they commit a crime, if use of force was justified when a complaint or severe injury to a suspect occurs, or there is an officer involved shooting. This would lend itself to corruption and turning a blind eye far too easily, so an independent investigation should always take place by an outside agency or body that does not have to work directly with the police force in question or has experience in investigating police corruptions, such as the FBI or a civilian oversight body created for this specific purpose. As for qualified immunity for prosecution being a shield for officers, it has removed almost all consequences for those that are violating citizens and suspect's rights or flat out committing crimes while performing their regular duties. The most an officer usually will face for punishment is getting fired, but they can just apply for a position at another department and with the shortage of officers in every department right now, this is easy enough to do. Officer's history of violations need to be made easily accessible by the public and potential police departments that look to hire them so that bad officers are taken off the streets. Banning them from working as police for violations for either periods of time or permanently would be an even better solution. Ending qualified immunity would be the best solution, but a form of it needs to exist for practical reasons, but not where it allows for protections for outright criminal acts. A middle ground where officers are banned for life from the profession for breaking the law while on duty would functionally be enough to clean up a lot of departments and help to restore a lot of public confidence in the police and the criminal justice system because right now nothing happens to these officers even if they wrongfully kill someone while violating their Constitutional rights on video with witnesses and that is unacceptable in a free society.