I think maybe the most important progression to make is a response to how police are a catch-all service with a gun. In other words, violence workers whom we also count on to do nonviolent work.

Having a team of social/mental assistance workers to respond to most cases would stop cops from having to wear both the gunman hat and the mediator hat. Then if there's a situation they can't handle, they can pull out and call in the violence workers.

By separating the violent and nonviolent functions, people will better be able to see modern-day police for what they are, and minimize their role. People dig in their heels to defend the police largely because they believe in the effectiveness of the nonviolent functions. Once you split the police into violence workers (current forces) and care workers, it becomes politically much easier to cut funding from the former and shift it to the latter, which probably wouldn't be populated with authoritarian types.