Quoting your poll (http://minguo.info/usa/node/67), I don't really know whether police brutality is on the rise or is just more exposed -- I would guess the latter, but who can say? But I strongly believe that there is way too much of it.

Both of the specific examples you brought in are very illustrative of the problem, and important to think about. They are different and point to different aspects of the problem, in my opinion. The Snyder / Roseland one is all about abuse of power, both by the council chair and of course more shockingly by the police officer. It's basically one guy assaulting another, and then trying to use his badge to turn the tables and blame the victim. I'm glad that you got a working video link for it, because I was finally able to see it this morning. Very bizarre and disturbing. I can see why you think it's important to spread the word.

The Meyer / UF one has a different message. To me, it illustrates how police officers are trained to strictly follow procedures, without considering and adjusting to circumstances. When I saw it, I didn't get the impression that the arresting officers were in a rage or acting sadistically, like the Snyder policeman was. They seemed very methodical, doing what they apparently considered to be their duty. One of them had decided the kid had to be arrested. The others were backing that one up. The kid didn't submit to being arrested. Having started the arrest process, they were unwilling to back down. I would guess that what they did is what they do in every situation where they are trying to arrest someone who refuses to just let them handcuff him/her etc. Honestly, that was what was so weird about it. It was like they were robots, programmed to follow a series of steps, with no real alternatives to that progression.

My question, generally and with this issue in particular, is what can be done? Publicity is important, and I support your attempts, but the primary purpose of this site is to discuss solutions, and that is the thread that I would like to follow. I see from one of your comments that you intend to get into that issue, too. I hope you don’t mind that I start throwing out some thoughts…

The solutions that interest me the most are ones that try to address the underlying problem, rather than the specific incident. In other words, while it might be right for Officer Tiller to lose his badge, I don't know that this does much for the problem of police brutality. A little, I suppose, since it would serve as an example. Perhaps it would change the climate in that one town, where according to the victim's wife, the police frequently act like "animals."

Maybe the UF officers should get fired, too. But I would bet that what they did was "technically" correct (in clear contrast to the Snyder case). Someone creates a "disturbance." You tell them to stop. They don't stop. You attempt to arrest them. They don't let you. You subdue them. I would bet you that this series of steps is drilled into them in their training. To me, that just means that there are problems with the training, and with the authority to use violence that our society grants to police officers.

What can be done to address the larger problem of police brutality? By larger problem, I don't mean only on a national level -- I also mean what could the citizens of that town do to better ensure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again, what could the University of Florida do to change the guidelines for policing that it has?

I would suggest that police brutalize people because our society has granted them a very broad authority to use violence with very limited accountability. Contrary to the impression I thought your comment on “resisting arrest” gave, the law is heavily tilted in the direction of giving police officers latitude in using violence as they see fit. If we don't want the police to be brutal, we need to curtail their right to use force. As I wrote in my discussion post (http://activistsolutions.org/node/181), one way would be to greatly restrict their ability to arrest people. Unless someone is clearly a threat, why not just give him a ticket, like you would if s/he was parked illegally? So long as the police have the right to arrest almost anybody under almost any pretext, they are going to either make mistakes or abuse that authority.

The other root problem, from my point of view, is that they get very minimal training and pay, especially when you compare them to professionals (like lawyers or accountants) who have much more limited authority. Before someone has the authority to cut you open, we require that they go to medical school for four years, and then they still have to get years of additional training. But we let someone wear a badge and carry a gun after an average of 12 to 14 weeks training (Bureau of Labor Statistics). They don't learn the kinds of conflict resolution and interpersonal skills they need. They don't learn how to calm situations down instead of escalating them.

As a result of all of this, is it any wonder that a certain element is attracted to police work? I am by no means lumping all police officers together -- I'm sure many take the job for very noble reasons -- but if you create a profession with very low entry requirements, low pay, paltry training, but you get to carry a gun and intimidate people, you're going to attract people who are drawn to that last part to a disproportionate extent. If we don't want so many bullies as police officers, we should insist on creating other incentives for going into that line of work.