it (mike brown) unfortunately fit all too well into the pattern of incompetent policing resulting in the deaths of people with incompetents getting off with maybe a hand slap.
Police are trained in professional paranoia that covers for lack of skill.
by way of example, japanese police are heavily trained in martial arts, and wrap up the unruly like a buritto using giant futons
https://www.tofugu.com/japan/martial-arts-of-japanese-police/
Using a gun in Japan, even if you’re a police officer, carries with it incredible consequences (the paperwork is the real killer), so it’s no surprise that the police have a wide arsenal of less lethal methods of subduing criminals.
In that arsenal is a martial art known as taiho-jutsu 逮捕術, which literally translates into “arrest technique.” It’s used by police, Imperial guard, the Japanese Self-Defense Force, Kamen Riders, Sailor Scouts, and pretty much every law enforcement and military agency in Japan.
I think this would be an excellent addition to the police training. When you are an excellent martial artist, the paranoia goes away because you know you can take the guy. you don't freak out.
see this encounter of japanese police vs large American gang banger from the hood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1anM0Cnx_Y
see also
I think this is a very large issue with the way police handle things in the US. If you're old/overweight and have no kind of physical training, your gun is the only option you have.
In the UK we have fitness tests and stuff, minimum height requirements etc. so officers don't find themselves in a situation where they can be physically overwhelmed by someone.
with appropriate skills, size matters a lot less.
physical fitness is an issue though, especially for those on desk duty.
Thank goodness the president didn't immediately defend the criminal in the media the way Obama did for Mike Brown before all the facts were in. Why should Obama care though? It wasn't his neighborhood that got burned.