writing 1 honestly thing that officers don't care if they get a lawsuit coming their way because of the time they get off easy. Half of settlements paid by police departments to victims ofofficer misconduct cases should be deducted from police pension funds. In criminal cases, police officers are frequently acquitted However, civil suits that follow are usually a losing battle for police departments, forcing them to pay up and suffer public image damage. While financially punishing the police and undermining public trust is a reasonable response to misconduct, I believe it falls short of the mark. Many cases appear to be internally investigated, and, surprise, surprise, no wrongdoing is discovered. Most of the time, the officers are placed on paid administrative leave with no real consequences. Police have little financial motivation to control potentially disruptive coworkers. If they observe abuses or potentially problematic behavior, good police officers may report it because "it's the right thing" to do or because the bad apples harm the profession. However, they are somewhat vague and unsatisfying justifications, particularly when faced with the ominous prospect of reporting a fellow police officer. Each and every police officer would have a financial incentive to proactively pick out bad apples if they had skin in the game. It might also encourage accountability in the culture rather than a blue wall of silence. It would involve both management and the workforce as a whole. Making police officers criminally responsible for their on-the-job conduct and refusing to pay for their legal defense are the two most effective ways to end police brutality. This, in my opinion, is the quickest approach to lessen instances of police violence. Just hold them equally accountable for their decisions to everyone else. There would be very few aggressive police officers left on the streets if they were required to cover their own legal costs and held to a higher standard of conduct. The Abner Louima Torture Case: Someone like Abner Louima could have been someone close to your father, brother, or uncle. What those police officers did to him was pure evil. Volpe was found quilty on theallegations. He received a 30-vear prison term without the possibility of parole on December 13, 1999. For aiding Volpe in attacking Louima in the restroom, Charles Schwarz was found guilty on June 27. 2000, and he was given a 15-year prison term. Indicted for attempting to cover up the assault were Bruder and Wiese Wiese and Bruder were found guilty on March 9, 2000, of conspiring to hinder a federal investigation into the assault on Louima. However, a federal appeals court overturned their convictions in February 2002 due to inadequate evidence. I found this fascinating because this is a rare case of cops being held accountable. Although the two other officers were acquitted of beating Louima in a patrol car and their convictions for obstruction of justice were eventuall.