To end testilying, Levine said, “I would entirely change incentive structures.” Officers would be rewarded for reporting on their colleagues’ lies and scrutinized when their stories do not line up. They would no longer be able to coordinate their stories before testifying, a common procedure that lets them iron out potential inconsistencies. Nor could they watch bodycam footage before providing their version of events, another perk that’s not provided to civilians. Prosecutors would be rewarded for rooting out unconstitutional behavior. Officers who lie, and prosecutors who tolerate them, would be terminated immediately. In short, the system would encourage police officers and prosecutors to focus less on winning cases and more on following the rules, even when a constitutional violation stands in the way of a conviction.

But the stress and trauma reached a tipping point with the siege of the Third Police Precinct, he said. Fifty of the officers currently seeking disability, about one-third of the total, were present at the Third Precinct on Thursday, May 28.

“They did not feel they were going to come home,” said Meuser. Some officers were texting their families’ goodbye and others were saving a bullet in case they needed to take their own life, rather than being beaten to death, he said. 

Meuser said since the killing of George Floyd, officers have felt abandoned by city and state politicians as well as the community at large. “It’s an emotional beatdown on a daily basis for these guys,” he said.

After refusing for weeks, Florida reveals flurry of deaths at individual nursing homes, ALFs


The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis disclosed the fatality numbers after several news organizations, including The Miami Herald, filed suit under the state’s public records law to force the data’s release — and in the wake of withering pressure from elder advocates and the families of long-term care residents who have been isolated in nursing homes and assisted living facilities for a month

Problems immediately emerged with what was released. For example, more than a month ago, administrators at the 180-bed Atria Willow Wood ALF in Fort Lauderdale confirmed that at least six residents had died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. But the chart released Friday includes only three resident deaths as confirmed, while three remained “under investigation.”

Some of the data raised eyebrows. One nursing home in the Panhandle, the 210-bed Southern Oaks Care Center, was reported to have had three resident deaths — though recent data from health administrators showed 94 residents of the Pensacola home had been infected. Based on previous data, 40% to 50% of long-term care residents infected with the virus die.