Thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned suggestions.
When I was the Administrative Officer of the Day (Night Manager) at the VA Hospital in the San Fernando Valley in the mid-1970s, cops were regular after-hours visitors. Based on their interest in getting people of all races, quite often drug and alcohol abusers, help rather than incarceration, I'd guess that very few of America's million cops are Derek Chauvin-like.
I've seen a Mental Health Specialist take down a violent, large male, without injury to anyone. Cops should not be used in the place of specialists like him. In my "leftist," Oregon town, we have a group called "CAHOOTS" (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets). They are a service of the local free clinic funded by a contract with the city. They are not cops and are not armed. They work closely with the police and other community resources. Too often, programs like this are opposed for symbolic political reasons. But, I never met a cop who did not appreciate having a mental health specialist deal with a person in crisis. Convince your conservative brethren to be as open-minded as you appear on your post, and they could take the lead in solving the current problem.
I agree with the sentiment in your fourth paragraph. Let's stop labeling people, as a matter of routine. It gets in the way of the bi-partisanship we sorely need to solve our problems.
Ideas? I say you have provided ample ones to build on to make things better for all of us.
