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You know where the expression "bad apples" came from, right? A few bad apples spoil the bunch. In other words, if there are a couple of rotten apples in a barrel, it spreads quickly to the whole barrel. In other words, it's important to find and throw out the bad apples immediately or you'll have to throw out the whole barrel a few days later.

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I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone defend police and not use the "bad apples" expression for some reason.

I think the expression "it's only a few bad apples" started out as an ironic expression but got picked up by those who missed the irony. You're right, I do see it applied this way to police everywhere. And it's a self-defeating argument every time.

People are not apples obviously. Bad people may influence bad behavior, but the reverse it true too. Good behavior may influence good behavior. Some people are independent and are less influenced by others.

And, in organizations, change comes from the top. As I said, reaching perfection is prohibitively expensive.

>People are not apples

Indeed. With our greater-than-apple intelligence, we should expect cops to sort out the bad apples themselves. Not close ranks and ostracize colleagues who speak up against the bad apples.

When you have great power and knowledge, inaction is being complicit.

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