they can determine quickly and unilaterally which specific cases are firable offenses?
yes the cops are ignoring a law and a directive but they are doing so specifically because your stupid suggestion isn't possible and they know it.
The police chief and/or the mayor and/or the police department has the ability to decide what is a fireable offense and what is not.
Many places falling asleep on the job even once is a fireable offense and some even showing up to work late once is fireable.
If the fireable offense are listed and well documented then even most unions will leave them alone.
There are plenty of fireable offense for a police officer. The only reason this is being ignored is because it is not considered serious.
Putting out a memo that says "harassing a bystander with a camera or deleting something from a bystander's camera" is grounds
for immediate termination is all that it would take. Obviously asking them to leave or stand back where safety is concerned is
reasonable but taking their phone from them and accessing it should be on the same level as tasering them or punching them in
the face or making them remove their clothes. There is absolutely no reason a cop should take a phone from a bystander and
start deleting stuff. Taking a phone for evidence or for safety, maybe, but even for evidence, the street cop shouldn't be accessing
it, it should be accessed by a forensic team who is recording and documenting what they are doing.