Thread by @DanielRAlonso

Short thread re: police and police reform. As a prosecutor, I worked with many cops, those great and those incompetent. The great ones performed valuable public service and saved lives. The bad ones were at best collecting a paycheck and waiting for their pension. /1

I also prosecuted several cops and oversaw the prosecution of many more. Once, I reported cops to internal affairs for lying and got them fired. Those cops hatched an aborted plot to kill me and a detective. /2
nytimes.com/2001/01/30/nyr…

I also disciplined many cops in Maricopa County. /3
kjzz.org/content/351447…

Here's what I learned: police have a difficult job to do and are subject to many rules. Most of them try to follow them. Some fail a lot, many fail sometimes. But just like cases not involving cops, each particular case is nuanced and not usually black and white. /4

Prosecuting in general is hard - that's necessary. Prosecuting cops is particularly hard, for a host of reasons, some of which make sense and some which are infuriating. /5

Anyone who tells you they have a magic prosecutorial answer to bad cops is blowing sunshine. I'm referring to candidates for chief prosecutor with facile promises of doing a better job at holding police accountable. /6

Everyone can do a better job, but recognize that many cases are not black and white, and most good current prosecutors want nothing more than to hold police "accountable" under just circumstances. /7

And note that I don't disagree with having independent prosecutors, like AGs, look at the most serious cases, like police-involved shootings. But that's just one category. /end