I was away for the weekend:

Peter K.."..., what about your cops (and Navy Seals for that matter) taking priosners alive occasionally? And just generally shooting a few less people?

Of course.... we ALL want that. That is just a matter of math. As long as cops have guns, some will be careless and/or stupid. Hiring cops is a delicate matter..... you need people who are brave and willing enough to do the job, but you want to avoid those who just like carrying a gun and harassing people.... and even then, seemingly good cops who deal with the worst parts of society every day can 'lose it' under stress and make more headlines.
   The slightly encouraging news is that recently, various cops at various levels have been fired, indicted and/or prosecuted for giving in to their baser feelings.
And politically, several Democratic candidates have done the unthinkable in the last few days and challenged the NRA mentality directly, offering plans to control gun sales and establish better databases of guns and offenders. (yes, I can hear you thinking.."so what? Isn't that pretty weak as a response?"..... but it's a start, and more & more respected pundits are making strong responses along those lines.
   We are in a bad place, but there's no choice but to start from where we are and chip away at the edges of the insanity until we weaken the whole flawed system. If *I* had a magic button, 87.318% of all guns might just melt into plowshares one night... but lacking that, honest, clever folk are working at it every day.