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« on: March 25, 2023, 08:02:50 AM »
Qualified immunity is not law passed by Congress nor is it in the Constitution. It was pretty much legislated by the bench and was a reaction to claims, true or not, of excessive police brutality against blacks. It is indeed abused but to what extent is debatable. I am opposed to it on principle. No one, law enforcement or not, violating a person’s fourth amendment rights, should be shielded from liability. And it’s true we got along fine without it for most of our history.
But as a pragmatist, I worry that due to changing culture and demographics we are facing a critical shortage of police officers. Ending qualified immunity may make this situation worse. It is proven that strong policing cuts down on crime. With the situation in the cities what they are, the last thing we want to do is weaken the police. Even if ending qualified immunity doesn’t result in a dearth of policemen, it may result in police being reluctant to act for fear of lawsuits.
One solution is for municipalities to shield officers from liability (pay for their defense and any settlements). I have a problem with the idea of low-salary police being open to high jury awards for trying to apprehend a criminal and making split second decisions under pressure. This hurts their families.
On the other hand there are abusive cops, and corruption in many forces, and it is often the innocent, not criminals, who are victims of police “over-enthusiasm” and they deserve justice and compensation.
Having said all that, right now I don’t think it’s an issue Trump should press. He will turn off libertarians and independents and he doesn’t need it to keep his MAGA core, so it’s not strategic, and he needs all the good strategy he can get to overcome the upcoming Democrat cheating.
2024 is more about getting rid of the Dems than about any of these myriad secondary issues. Focus on the big ones and many of the small ones will take care of themselves. Crime was at its lowest when Trump was in office before the pandemic. Minority unemployment was at its lowest (there’s a correlation there). Booming economy, low gas prices, no inflation, border under control, and no WW3. Get that back: Far more important than bickering over qualified immunity.