Police: Independent review team like this could work

I think the majority of Washington residents believe our police officers are basically good, honest, hard-working civil servants. Only a few “rotten apples” cause so much unrest.

These officers are more likely be temperamental with an inflated view of their talent or importance. Attempting to weed them out is a slow, gut-wrenching process which compounds the problem, especially for the Black Lives Matter community.

If there were an independent state investigation body, there would be no need to “defund the police.”

It might consist of a retired state legislator, a retired judge, perhaps two retired police chiefs, two lawyers (defense and prosecutor), a police union representative, two NAACP representatives, and maybe a doctor or medical technician.

If an officer is suspected of violating standard police practices and using deadly force, this body would conduct the investigation. Its findings and recommendations would be submitted directly to the judicial branch.

A news media representative might be allowed to attend the proceedings to verify their unbiased conclusions.

This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 6:27 PM with the headline "Police: Independent review team like this could work."