And the really unfair thing about this is that the tax payers in the afflicted communities then get stuck with the bill while the offending officers get a paid vacation. The city councils should really lean hard on the police departments to fire the bad officers for not using proper judgment even if they (the police department) decide not to prosecute them. If the officers feel like they can get away with such behavior with no repercussions we will see a lot more intemperate brutality.

Unfortunately, rather than better training their officers to handle situations appropriately, police departments have been training them to use phrases like, “He went for my gun,” or “I was in fear for my life,” as a way to justify their actions and reduce successful lawsuits against the departments. (It’s a lot like the way medical staff are trained to avoid saying,”I’m sorry,” because it can be used in litigation.)