Reply #150: in the moment, yes, i'd permit the police to make that determination

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but i think there need to be reasonable standards and accountability, and in practice i don't think we have them.

there needs to be a realistic, effective method to discipline the police when they use force inappropriately. in practice, we pretty much only have that the officer can be temporarily suspended or even fired in the exceptional cases that are made into public scandals and in even more extreme cases, the officer might be prosecuted. but the perception, at least, is that this sort of discipline is extremely rare, and consequently, the actions that the police take may not be checked as they should be.

it is of great concern to give this power to the government and therefore we need effective checks against abuse.