But consider that Sunnyvale, California has the benefit of a very upscale demographic, no gang activity, low organized crime, etc. What works for one place will likely not apply elsewhere (e.g. no one-size-fits-all solution).

Organized crime (especially drug crime) is a quasi-military force. The police are threatening billions of dollars in illicit profit, and that will not go unchallenged easily.

Police will always need some SWAT and borderline military teams. The question is whether the average street cop needs to be weapon-wielding law enforcement, and I suggest the answer is no.

The danger level goes down when it's known that a cop's power is in their reinforcements. The individual cop would be little danger and doesn't need to be shot.

> Organized crime (especially drug crime) is a quasi-military force. The police are threatening billions of dollars in illicit profit, and that will not go unchallenged easily.

Arguably that should be addressed by a different organisation than the folks who enforce traffic laws and investigate petty theft. The state guard, perhaps?

We do have an Association for Drug Enforcement, but having one government entity cover every bit of gang activity in the nation seems like a lot of effort.

So in Ireland, as mentioned elsewhere, our normal police wear a hi-vis Star Trek uniform, and aren’t generally armed. We also have a few specialised branches for organised crime, terrorism, etc, though; some of those _are_ armed, and have significantly scarier uniforms, and much more extensive training. Same organisation, but totally different role.

Forcing cops to double as firefighters helps a lot to keep undesirable officers out. It forces all cops to be in firefighting shape, which is significantly more difficult that the average police requirements. It also means cops need to be willing to run into burning buildings, which is more danger than the average cop would ever face.

In Utah, at least, all cops are required to also be EMTs. I think understanding a lot about how the body works and how to save a life might also have an effect on how you respond to some events, but I don't know.

Sort of depends on if they have a duty of care and are required to intervene medically.

I think George Floyd is a good case study for reform; Chauvin and all officers should be required to assess for medical emergencies at all times basically and take at least some level of medical action when necessary. So Chauvin should have been required to check for consciousness and then provide aid once finding Floyd to be in medical distress.

What Chauvin and fellow officers did was already in violation of policy. The problem is that they didn’t care, and having extra rules in the policy may help others but not George Floyd. If it weren’t for cameras things would’ve turned out better for those police officers.

In my experience, Sunnyvale cops aren't better than cops anywhere else.