Excellent piece! Matt Taiibi is an insightful thinker, always a pleasure to read. Thanks for sharing, Susan.
On the topic of suggested police reforms, here's one I posted among a number of other remarks I made in the reader comments, as well as a self-help suggestion (this in response to the comment "Liberalism is a mental disorder", lol):
Power addiction is a mental disorder, and power addicts come in all political flavors. Anyone who exhibits a strong need to control others is unsafe wielding the power of law -- either writing it or enforcing it.
The good news is that if you or someone you know enjoys wielding power over others, there are safe, healthy outlets for this. There is no need to become a danger to the community in order to get your fix. You can either hire a professional submissive from time to time, find a longer-term dominant/submissive arrangement, or become a pro-dom yourself.
Every police academy should include a required course taught by civil liberties advocates, with the classes designed not only to teach harm-minimization practices and properly respectful attitudes toward members of the public, but also to weed out the recruits who like power too much, or at the least, assign them strictly to non-command desk jobs.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
P.S. - Another terrific piece by Anthony Gregory that goes even further and makes the case for getting rid of the police entirely -- http://www.lewrockwell.com/2011/05/anthony-gregory/abolish-the-police/