Thread by @TheValuesVoter

Good cops, and there are a whole lot of them in America, provide more value to society than we can ever pay them back in terms of salary and benefits. We need them badly.

But bad cops, like former officer #DerekChauvin, are an incalculable liability to society and to taxpayers.

This man, who is now a convicted murderer and under multiple federal indictments, had a gun, a badge and a taxpayer-funded salary less than 13 months ago today.

What is the impact of people like this on society? Let’s count the ways.

People like Chauvin and others who abuse their authority as officers:

- Hurt and kill the people they swore an oath to protect.
- Destroy the faith of many citizens in the idea of policing.
- Cost taxpayers a literal fortune. Nobody Defunds the Police more than bad cops.

- They put their fellow officers who don’t do these things in danger and bring them undeserved shame and extra job stress.
- They likely increase the crime rate because some people who really need the services of police are afraid to call them.

This particular bad cop, Derek Chauvin, not only murdered George Floyd while on duty and brought shame to his colleagues and to our entire country but cost his employer tens of millions of dollars. The damage this guy did is incredible. Incalculable.

And George Floyd was not the first person Derek Chauvin choked into at least unconsciousness by putting his knee on his neck.

There were warning signs. This was an accident waiting to happen.

If you say you love “law and order,” that has to include both the “law” part and the “order” part. Agents of the state cannot deprive citizens their lives because they feel like it.

And if you call yourself a fiscal conservative, the fiscally conservative thing to do is to financially incentivize the good cops and get rid of the bad cops.

To those who take their oath seriously, work harder to retain them.

But purge out the bad guys like they’re a danger to the public and to the other cops as well as a giant hole in the taxpayer’s wallet. Which they are.

Forget the fact that we’re taking about people like Chauvin. Think more broadly. Is there ANY industry or company anywhere that doesn’t get rid of employees that cost it millions of dollars and severely damages its brand?