Allegations of Police Misconduct Get Swift Response, But Is It a Tipping Point?

In the days since George Floyd was killed during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers, police departments and elected officials across the U.S. have responded with unusual swiftness to allegations of police misconduct.

Advocacy groups and law-enforcement officials agree that structural changes to policing will take time, and experts dispute whether disciplinary actions against officers will have a lasting effect.

“We try to fix policing on the back end, with punishment for things that have gone wrong. It doesn’t work very well,” said Barry Friedman, a professor at New York University School of Law and director of its Policing Project, an organization focused on police accountability. He said many of the country’s policing problems are systemic and not about individual events or bad apples.

But some police chiefs and elected officials said they believe Mr. Floyd’s killing could prove to be a tipping point.

“You’re going to have officers that make bad decisions. The key is what is our response,” said Sheriff Chris Swanson of Genesee County, Mich., who took off his helmet and joined protesters.

“The decision to walk was the best decision I’ve ever made in my career,” Mr. Swanson said. “George Floyd changed American policing forever.”