> Whatever you do now doesn't work retroactively.

The point of such a thing is to deter similar conduct in the future.

The fact that this isn't a crime, and that qualified immunity typically means they can't even be held responsible civily, is part of what encourages police to commit misconduct like this.

The only folks punished here were the local taxpayers footing the bill.

> Changing the system means removing the potential for abuse of power, not punishing abuse of power after the fact.

At a certain point, punishing abuse of power after the fact is the only way to discourage the potential abuse of power. Like there is nothing that actually stops you or me from going and kidnapping someone. And that same dynamic applies to someone who happens to also be a sheriff who controls a jail due to his employment. There is no magic wand for the system to wave that makes it so that the individuals employed by that system can't simply break the law.