[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by molson

So you want to ban police officers accused of crimes from hiring private attorneys?

Way to clip the comment and ignore the admission of snark.

But, yes, I do think it's a concern that when a police officer faces misconduct charges, the union will provide representation for them, and it's often of a caliber that non-police criminal defendants never see.

And that level of attorney coverage will go a lot farther towards getting a case thrown out or charges greatly reduced.

And you think the criminal law should vary depending on how much society should expect from the group the suspect or defendant belongs to? Who will be in charge of ranking groups in terms of how much we should expect from them? I can't wait for that debate.

If you're an agent of the state with the ability to use lethal force, I absolutely expect you to be held to a higher standard. With power comes responsibility, and responsibility is meaningless without accountability.

In a civil context, like medical malpractice, we can talk about "reasonable standards of care" in the medical profession. In the employment context, there should be lots of types of conduct that can get a prosecutor or police officer fired. When we're talking about murder charges, life in prison, or potentially the death penalty, no, you don't get fewer rights if we "expect more" from the group you belong to.

If the group you belong to has legal permission to infringe upon others' rights, then there absolutely SHOULD be a greater expectation, a higher standard of behavior. It's not equal protection under the law if you can shoot me and skate for it because of what your job is.

I agree that there should be standards of misconduct that can get an officer fired and disqualified from further police service.

But if that misconduct ends in the death of a civilian, I absolutely believe the death penalty should be on the table (of course, I feel the same about prosecutorial misconduct when the death penalty is pursued against the defendant; your desire to burnish your credentials for your political career should not turn a railroading into 'merely' a disbarment).