There need to be financial penalties that affect entire departments so that officers are encouraged to self-police, and root out bad actors who are negatively affecting their own livelihoods. This could then be backed up by a citizen review board where officers wages or pensions are not collectively sanctioned if they can reasonably demonstrate that they attempted to report abusive or unethical behavior, but it went unacknowledged by management or senior staff.
All individual State & Local police unions need to be folded together with the normal labor unions for State, City, or County workers. This accomplishes two things: it removes the power of individual collective bargaining where they can hold those jurisdictions hostage at the expense of all the other employees, and it also makes them part of the community of workers & citizens that they SHOULD be representing. Until we make a structural change back towards community policing where there is a strong emphasis on improving public relations, listening to public feedback, and focusing on issues that are impacting the people in their communities we will continue to have this artificial separation of ethical priorities where police operate as an enforcement arm of the government rather than an integral part of a communities’ social welfare & safety net.
Lastly, I agree with your sentiment that police should be held to the same standard criminally and ethically as any other private citizen. We can no longer allow there to be this veil of ignorance where we turn a blind eye to the violence that is perpetrated by police, and where their behavior is just written off as being “part of the job”. Getting to that point requires strong leadership with an emphasis on continuing training, education, and resource management that is directed more towards accomplishing community goals rather than buying surplus military equipment.
All of these things are going to be difficult, and it is likely that we will have to suffer the consequences of our inaction & complacency. Many police will quit their jobs, like we have seen in Seattle for example, and it will take a long time to get better quality officers who care about doing their duty in a humane way. I have doubts about whether or not most people are willing to suffer these short term consequences in order to build a more positive future for the profession. Only time will tell, but I for one would rather start that journey rather than burying our heads in the sand and kicking the can down the road for another generation or more…