What are some fair and efficient policies to implement for reducing cases of police brutality?

1. If you’re stopped by the police, follow their instructions. If possible, be polite. If this is not possible, be civil.
2. If you are arrested, do not resist arrest.
3. Do not run from the police.
4. Do not, under any circumstances, assault a police officer.
5. Refrain from breaking the law or otherwise committing crimes.
6. Do not bait, provoke, or interfere with police officers doing their work.
7. If you feel the need to make video recordings, do so from a distance that will not cause the officer(s) to be concerned you may assault them.
8. While observing or making recordings of police activities, refrain from shouting insults, threats, or what is likely bad legal advice.
9. If you believe you or someone you know has been mistreated by the police, make a report at the police station, call the FBI to report a civil rights violation, or contact an attorney to file a lawsuit. Do not attempt to achieve what you may believe to be justice at the scene of the arrest.
10. If you are the focus of criminal charges, exercise your Sixth Amendment rights to trial, the assistance of counsel, to cross-examine witnesses, and to present your own witnesses and evidence. Do not attempt to achieve what you may believe to be justice at the scene of the arrest.

Some may interpret my answer as flippant or unhelpful. I disagree. If you closely examine incidents of what are sometimes labeled as “police brutality” (when examined in the courts and by independent parties, these episodes are usually found to be “reasonable uses of force”), you will find that all but a very few are predicated by someone resisting arrest, fleeing from custody, committing a violent crime or felony, or assaulting an officer.

Self-appointed journalists and cop-blockers feel the need not only to make video recordings of police activities, but also to shout insults and interfere with the officer’s activities. Observing and making recordings is a protected First Amendment activity. Interfering with an investigation or other police activity is a crime, for which you may be arrested.

Follow these suggestions, and watch the incidence of “police brutality” dwindle.

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