Minor correction: it was not the same police officers, although from the same police department.

> The cops involved went back to where they killed Elijah McCain and posed for a group photo, reportedly re-enacting his death

What compels someone to do that?

Nothing compels them. It is who they are. And they are not alone in being like this.

The better question is, why are so many people in positions of authority like this?

Another police department got caught bending down the notches on their police badges as a way of signifying how many kills a given officer had, and even had a ceremony for officers first kill. Reports say at least 25% of the precinct participated, probably most knew.

American police live in what we call a “siege” mentality; they believe that they’re the only thing protecting society from chaos and crime. This results in a belief that their actions are inherently just, and that any criticism risks exposure of society to the chaos they’re barely holding back.

It’s not a convincing pitch when viewed in the light of blatant police brutality, but it appears to be what they believe.

I believe the positions naturally draws people who are bullies. Not that all of them are, but the power over, and respect from the general population is probably very attractive to people who get a kick out of being asshole. Also, while I can't confirm the prevalence, there's a ton of anecdotes you here about shady hiring practices. There's the now popular story about a department refusing to hire people who had too high an IQ, and a friend told me how a department in a large city was attempting to recruit his cousin, despite him being diagnosed bipolar.

> Also, while I can't confirm the prevalence, there's a ton of anecdotes you here about shady hiring practices. There's the now popular story about a department refusing to hire people who had too high an IQ

this is not just anecdotal, and has even been tested in court[0].

0. https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/st...

That is way beyond what I would consider bullying or asshole behaviour.

take your pick of "us vs them", "thin blue line", or "own the libs"

Racism. They were celebrating their victory.

Minor correction: the victim's name is Elijah McClain.

>This is the behavior I’d expect from a serial killer.

Yes, they're police in the United States...

This shouldn’t be alarming. This is consistent with the behavior we’ve been seeing all year. This is status quo.

The difference between our points is the subtle difference between alarm and surprise. I’d contend that one can be alarmed even if they’re not surprised; although even I am inclined to admit that this is pretty low value pedantry on my part.

It should be alarming - it's important not to get used to such abhorrent behavior, just because it's the status quo.

I cannot maintain a state of alarm for years on end.