[Brian Swartz]

I don't think it's 95%, but I think Edward64's main point about most cops doing their best is true. It's also obviously true that it just isn't enough. The things posted in this thread do paint a skewed picture. There's shouldn't be a fraction this many blatantly obvious examples nationwide even if this is all of them though. Things like this should be zero-tolerance and exceptionally rare. The fact that they are clearly not demands action.

I view this like a situation that happened some years ago with the charity Feed the Children. Somebody poisoned some supplies they were sending out, and a thorough investigation couldn't pinpoint the offender(s). Their response was to fire everyone it could have been, knowing most were innocent, because it was of paramount importance to ensure whoever it was no longer worked there and couldn't do it again.

Firing every police officer, supervisors etc. responsible for gross and blatant (sometimes criminal) abuses of their power & authority might lead to critical shortages of needed public servants in some jurisdictions. It will probably savage the morale of many who will feel the police as a whole are being maligned, esp. those who are just trying to do their job well. It needs to happen anyway. Unlike some others in this thread I'm not particularly concerned about the prosecution side, because prosecutors are generally more willing to prosecute than juries are to convict (that's the end that needs to change). But police departments can decide not to employ those who can't or won't restrain themselves. It is always better to let some crimes go unanswered than to punish the innocent.