> We would need alternative weapons like high powered tasers. This sort of idea usually comes from folks that don't have much, if any, experience in combat --

> We would need alternative weapons like high powered tasers. This sort of idea usually comes from folks that don't have much, if any, experience in combat -- or with violence at all, for that matter. There's a reason that anesthesiologists are some of the most highly-paid (and highly-stressed!) medical professionals. Namely, that due to some rather sensible quirks of evolution and biology, it is absurdly difficult to, in any reliable way, rapidly yet temporarily incapacitate a human being without outright killing them. Tasers are fantastically unreliable, typically only provide one or two "shots", and can not be reloaded in the field. If you are up against multiple assailants, a Taser is absolutely useless. Also keep in mind that the sort of situations that police have to deal with evolve very, very rapidly. Seriously, watch some of the police body-cam videos on YouTube -- you can go from "routine traffic stop" to "armed combat with a numerically superior force" in a fraction of a second. Fixing this would require doing some things that are politically very unpalatable, sadly. The big one would be to focus on rehabilitation and prisoner care over punishment. Suspects would be a lot less likely to fight back against police if (a) they felt that the justice system would treat them fairly; (b) the conditions inside of jail were safe and sanitary; and (c) conviction didn't absolutely screw your chances of future employment. We'd also actually be better off if police only carried firearms (no tasers, OC spray, batons, etc.) The more weapons you give a person, the more likely they are to use any of them -- e.g., an officer with both a Taser and a pistol is more likely to use both than an officer with only a pistol. Ending the War on Drugs is also a good idea. Finally: eliminate civil forfeiture, and pass a law mandating that all monetary punishment (from speeding tickets to fines levied against corporations by the EPA) be passed back to the taxpayer as a refund. Remove the revenue incentives for police departments to behave badly.