No need to go to the death penalty if hefty damages will do the job.
And the good thing about hefty damages is that the higher-ups might not really be affected by a dead beat cop or two, while a multi-million dollar judgment against the police chief, the county, and the county administrator and commissioners might just get their attention. (OK, I admit it, I'm pretty cynical!)
Somebody on the local news website mentioned that the mayor has hired a really aggressive plaintiffs' attorney. I generally don't hold a brief for the plaintiffs' bar, but this sounds like a situation in which a bulldog type guy is necessary and overall a Good Thing.
I hope the whole county gets taken to the cleaners, and that the resulting tax burden causes the taxpayers to clean house in county government. It's probable that this sort of rot goes all the way to the top.
I see your point, but here’s hoping that a few “tragedies in the line of duty” might make the rank-and-file SWAT members think twice about whether they want to be on a team lead by loose cannons and JBTs. I used to support the police. That has changed over the past several years, seeing more and more “incidents” of this type. I hate to say it, but that guy up in VA who shot and killed a cop who was part of a bogus no-knock raid and who got off is starting to looking like a hero, in some ways.