3 ms·

They should risk well more than their jobs for their criminal behavior. I'm so sick of qualified immunity I could convict a cop for chewing gum.

• nicoburns 5y ago
  I agree in general, although I'm not sure criminal prosecution would be worthwhile/appropriate for breaking a door down. For more serious crimes absolutely.
  • spacemanmatt 5y ago
    I think they should experience the MORE legal risk for a trespass and property damage that I do. You seem to be arguing that they should still have qualified immunity, but maybe not so much of it, if I'm understanding?
    • nicoburns 5y ago
      I guess I feel like there are pretty much no circumstances in which I would need to break down a door. Whereas police officers are likely to find themselves in circumstances where breaking down a door is legitimately the right thing to do quite a bit more often. So perhaps some allowance for that is merited. I'd like to live in a world where lawsuits aren't necessary to achieve justice, except in extreme cases.
      • spacemanmatt 5y ago
        Ok, so let's say there is a circumstance and a process by which they obtain justification from a judge, in the form of a warrant. Then they execute the warrant on the wrong address. Why should a cop enjoy immunity for an unjustified felony trespass and property destruction just because they were justified at another address? That's the kind of problem we have now. It's not that cops can't get a warrant for what they do. It's that they are not punished for the stuff they do without a warrant, that you and I would (and rightly should) be punished for.