We need to get serious about dishonest cops [View all]

[moniss]

whether they are local, state or Federal. Mandatory Brady Lists nationwide that would track officers bad behavior such as excessive force, dishonesty in court, domestic violence, drug convictions, evidence/witness tampering, filing false reports etc. should all be tracked across all levels and jurisdictions nationwide. These lists should be open and available to the public. Currently the country is a mishmash regarding Brady Lists with some having them and some not at all.

I will go a step further and say that this information is not only imperative to have in court but it is vital for the person being stopped along the road on a traffic stop, being questioned in any investigation or encountering such an officer on duty in any scenario. Therefore to that end I would propose that officers found to have infractions for dishonesty be required to have a prominent yellow patch sewn on the front and back of their uniforms to alert citizens they are dealing with an officer whose statements and actions will not necessarily be truthful. Likewise if the officer has been found to have used excessive force, convicted of domestic violence or convicted of other offenses involving violence then they must have a red patch attached to their uniform to alert citizens that the officer has a history of unwarranted violence.

So yellow patches to indicate to citizens to be extra cautious around that officer because of proven dishonesty and red patches to warn a citizen about the very real danger of interacting or being in the vicinity with an officer with a known history of loss of control and use of violence.

Yes I know all of the screams from the police unions etc. will come. But like they say to citizens all the time "Why are you refusing to comply? Do you have something to hide? Why don't you just comply?"

Here is an article about Brady Lists in Wisconsin.

https://www.criminallegalnews.org/news/2024/nov/1/wisconsin-district-attorneys-police-brady-lists-often-secret-incomplete-or-nonexistent/