how could we turn the corner on this?

For years, whenever there was a police involved shooting, law-and-order types would argue that you cannot hold police officers responsible for deaths at their hands (murders) because if you do, then police officers will not be able to do their work properly. That is, they will stop putting their lives on the line for the public; they will be tentative in performing their duties because they will feel more vulnerable; etc. etc. etc.

It never occurs to those law-and-order types to consider the other side of the coin. Namely, that police officers will become increasingly cavalier with their use of force imagining that any time a death occurred at their hands that it would be deemed acceptable use of force.

Or, that the general public, particularly those more likely to be treated as suspect, would not be able to trust the police. It may not seem like the most important aspect of a police officer's effectiveness, to be trusted by the public. However, having the trust, and cooperation, of the public, is, in fact, a crucial part of getting the job done when it comes to peace officers and other law enforcement.

Recent public reaction to police use of force, beyond that in Oakland, speak to the limits of public patience and good will with over use of force or continued use of force over any other kind of restraint.

I hope that there is a way to turn the corner on this issue before there is full scale rebellion on any other front...