U.S. cops killed 111 people in March 2015, whereas United Kingdom police have killed 52 people since 1900, according to Think Progress (click here). 
This statistic speaks for itself, and doesn’t need comment. Obviously, we have a problem.
TP notes that “the deaths follow a national pattern … mostly people of color, mentally ill, or both.” But given the large number of conservative and GOP-dominated state legislatures (due in no small part to gerrymandering), many of the legislative proposals are in the wrong direction:
“In response to mounting criticism of police tactics and conduct, lawmakers have also considered withholding information about officers to avoid backlash and protect cops’ identity. On Monday, Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) vetoed a bill that would hide the identities of officers involved in fatal shootings for 60 days.”
That’s not a solution! If you ask me, the last thing we need is giving killer cops another shield from accountability. The real solutions seem obvious to me:
1. Stop hiring the wrong people for police work. It’s clear that some people who have badges shouldn’t be cops.
2. Institute more rigorous applicant screening. As part of this effort, because policing in America is highly fragmented with nearly 18,000 independent police agencies, set up a national police personnel database so hiring managers can easily identify applicants with disqualifying prior employment records.
3. Eliminate the practice of police departments hiring other agencies’ castoffs to save training costs. Cops washed out for performance issues shouldn’t be able to get rehired elsewhere.
4. Change police training and procedures to emphasize respect for the sanctity of human life. Impose strict restraints on use of lethal force, and enforce them.
5. Make it easier to discipline, sue, and prosecute killer cops.
6. Rein in the power of police unions to protect violent and abusive cops.
7. Demand that police managers remove assaultive, abusive, and dishonest cops from their personnel lists. Unnecessary or excessive force, falsifying police reports, falsely accusing, planting evidence, lying in court, etc., should be firing offenses.
It is clear from experiences of other countries that “officer safety” doesn’t require the number or intensity of killings being perpetrated by America’s police. 
The huge disparity in police killings statistics between the U.S. and other civilized countries makes clear the problem lies with officer selection, training, procedures, and attitudes.
Those are the things that must change if we are to see a reduction in police killings in our country. If things don’t change, our police will lose legitimacy and public respect, and that will expose good and bad cops alike to greater danger.