Years before a deputy killed Sonya Massey in Illinois after she called 911 for help, the sheriff's office failed to police misconduct within its ranks, a new CBS News investigation shows.

Why did the Springfield woman have to die this July in her own kitchen? Couldn’t that Sangamon County deputy have done something other than shoot Massey in the face? The deputy was fired and charged in her death, which the sheriff claimed was carried out by "a rogue individual that acted outside the scope of his authority." But CBS News' review of court records dating to 2007 challenges that claim.

It seems that a questionable use of deadly force happens on a national scale far too often. We know the victims' names, don’t we? Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and more. We know this problem of police violence will not be fixed by putting bad cops in jail. It can only be fixed by making major changes and improvements in our policing.

We are senior police leaders. We come from two generations of policing, two 30-year police careers and two racial experiences. We have a singular mission today: to help our nation develop a system of policing that is fair, is impartial, supports our nation’s sacred values and protects all of us.

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