The police forces in most of America have become a magnet for sociopaths and bullies. There is such a deeply held belief and culture of covering up wrongdoing by fellow officers that it provides a safe space for the absolute worst behavior humanity has to offer. And, because there is still a strongly held belief among most of the nation that, &quot;most cops are good&quot; or even that most cops are downright heroic, that to question or criticize police is to put a target on your back.<p>A number of my friends are anti-police brutality activists (a few relatively well-known nationwide for it, but all are known by name by many in the local and state PD), and they have quite long arrest records; all bullshit charges, none of which stuck, but all part of a campaign by the police to make their lives miserable. One &quot;accidentally&quot; had his head smacked into a marble floor, hard enough to cause a concussion and a pool a blood on the floor and a night at the hospital, while he was passively filming police at an unrelated protest.<p>This is not restricted to Chicago, though Chicago seems to be quite far advanced on the path to being the worst.<p>In short: I don&#x27;t know what should replace police in the US, but <i>drastic</i> change is needed. Not merely reform; the whole damned system needs to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. The prison industrial complex, of which police are the front line foot soldiers, is a national disgrace.