First, "the media" should do something, but we can't legislate that.
Secondly, "the power to press charges separate from the DA"--this is a stronger form of getting rid of qualified immunity. We already have the power to file "civil" suits, and qualified immunity removes that power in the case of e.g. police. Giving people the power to file criminal charges themselves would be a huge deal. Maybe it is the right thing ultimately, but I think it's obvious how it could be abused; an abusive billionaire could legally threaten their opponents with imprisonment (or worse).
Thirdly, thinking that bodycam reform would be any kind of useful measure, is quite naive, when you look at how many of these recent abuses are recorded on independent cameras, with the police fully aware they are being recorded, and yet they still act as they do, knowing they have this "qualified immunity" to protect them.
I'm not saying that you're completely wrong; some of these reforms may help things a bit. But they don't strike at the root of the issue, and the ship for seeing if more moderate reforms will work has already sailed. The police and cities etc have had literally decades to clean up their act, and in cities across America, they have failed. Time's up.
GP did not suggest letting private citizens bring criminal charges, he suggested having a separate and independent arm of government that provides oversight of the police have that power. That's a very different thing, and at seems at least plausible way forward. At the very least it helps to address the conflicts of interest that he identified (correctly, IMO).
Thank you for the clarification, I misunderstood that point. Whatever law-enforcement entities we will have to replace the police, should certainly have independent oversight, I agree. However, for the current police regime, it is still too little, too late.
Secondly, "the power to press charges separate from the DA"--this is a stronger form of getting rid of qualified immunity. We already have the power to file "civil" suits, and qualified immunity removes that power in the case of e.g. police. Giving people the power to file criminal charges themselves would be a huge deal. Maybe it is the right thing ultimately, but I think it's obvious how it could be abused; an abusive billionaire could legally threaten their opponents with imprisonment (or worse).
Thirdly, thinking that bodycam reform would be any kind of useful measure, is quite naive, when you look at how many of these recent abuses are recorded on independent cameras, with the police fully aware they are being recorded, and yet they still act as they do, knowing they have this "qualified immunity" to protect them.
I'm not saying that you're completely wrong; some of these reforms may help things a bit. But they don't strike at the root of the issue, and the ship for seeing if more moderate reforms will work has already sailed. The police and cities etc have had literally decades to clean up their act, and in cities across America, they have failed. Time's up.