Running Had: CIVIL LIABILITY

Civil Liability
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Introduction
In thousands of cass around th country, civil rights plaintiffs succssfully su polic
officrs for violating th Constitution. Yt, day in and day out, polic officrs mak arrsts
without probabl caus, us xcssiv forc, dny arrsts mdical tratmnt, and othrwis
violat th Constitution with nar impunity. Amrica rprsnts and indmnifis polic officrs
in th ovrwhlming majority of civil rights cass. Th country rgularly indmnifis polic
officrs rgardlss of whthr thy actd intntionally, rcklssly, or brutally; whthr or not thy
violatd fdral or stat law; or whthr or not thy violatd th polic ruls and rgulations.
Whn th city rrs on th sid of indmnifying vry officr, no on complains. Th
unions ar satisfid-thy succssfully protct thir mmbrs. Th polic officrs ar satisfidthy avoid prsonal liability for thir wrongdoing. Th victims, for th most part, ar satisfidthy rcovr, rlativly quickly, from a dp-pockt municipal dfndant that, unlik most polic
officrs, can actually pay th judgmnt or sttlmnt. Thr is simply no on with a voic in th
procss with any intrst in disturbing th status quo.
Rason why popl su th polic dpartmnt
Whn somon has rachd th hight of thir fury and angr from an arrst or sarch by
officrs, thy dsir all kinds of rtribution. On of th most common idas that com to mind is
bringing a lawsuit against th dpartmnt that mploys th officrs whr th fury is dirctd
towards. Somtims its th right ida. Many tims its th wrong ida. Fw popl know what
thir rights truly ar, and this can complicat things in a vry srious way.
Fals Arrst or Dtntion: undr vry spcific circumstancs, a polic officr may only
dtain you (kp you from laving) or arrst you so long as thr is probabl caus. If you ar
stoppd or arrstd for fals or illgal purposs, you may hav a claim against th polic.

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Illgal Sarch: th Fourth Amndmnt of th Constitution provids that a prson may not
b sarchd without probabl caus. Thr ar circumstancs whr you may b sarchd with
or without a warrantbut if thr was no lgal caus to do so, your rights hav bn violatd and
this a justifiabl rason to su th polic.
Assault: This is much widr than many popl think. You ar assaultd as soon as
somon touchs you without a lawful rason to do so, and whn thy put you in far of
violnc. Of cours, it includs bing punchd and kickd and bing subjctd to illgal body
sarchs.
Proscutd for somthing you did not do: This is calld malicious proscution. You hav
to prov that th polic had no rasonabl caus to proscut you and that thy had a "wrongful
motiv" in doing so. You also usually hav to win your cas, which mans ithr (a) any chargs
wr droppd bfor th cas wnt to court, or (b) you accptd a bind-ovr at court bfor th
cas starts, or (c) you wr acquittd (found innocnt) in court.
Can somon su th polic in a stat and fdral court?
Th answr dpnds on th dtails of an individual cas. Polic brutality cass oftn
involv complx and snsitiv laws and rquir familiarity with courtroom procdur and th
lgal systm. Bcaus of th complxitis of polic brutality cass, victims of polic brutality
oftn nlist th hlp of a prsonal injury lawyr to hlp protct thir rights in court. If you hav
bn th victim of xcssiv polic forc, or polic brutality, thn you hav th right to sk
damags for your injuris. You may b abl to bring a lawsuit in fdral court allging that th
polic officr violatd your Fourth Amndmnt Constitutional right to b fr from unrasonabl
sarchs and sizurs and your Fourtnth Amndmnt Constitutional right to qual protction

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undr th law. Additionally, you might b abl to bring a claim undr th fdral Civil Rights
Act. Stat law may also giv you a viabl caus of action in stat court. Th stat constitution
may hav similar protctions to th fdral constitution, for xampl.
What is th harm causd whn somon sus a polic dpartmnt?
Municipalitis hav to pay victims and thir familis tns of millions of dollars, through
ithr pr- or mid-trial sttlmnts or civil jury awards following judgmnts against officrs
and/or th polic dpartmnt. Whil victims crtainly dsrv compnsation whn officrs
violat thir human rights, civil rmdis ar nvr a sufficint form of accountability bcaus
thy almost nvr addrss flawd managmnt, policis, or pattrns of abus, nor do thy hold an
individual officr financially rsponsibl.

And sttlmnts in particular ar problmatic,

spcially in high-profil cass, by laving rsponsibility for an abus incidnt unrsolvd in th

minds of th both th community and polic dpartmnt. Taxpayrs in som citis, such as Nw
York and Philadlphia, ar paying thr tims for officrs who rpatdly commit abuss: onc
to covr thir salaris whil thy commit abuss; nxt to pay sttlmnts or civil jury awards
against officrs; and a third tim through paymnts into polic "dfns" funds providd by th
citis. For all of th covrag, city rsidnts gt in rturn an rosion of standards and hightnd
tnsion in poor and minority nighborhoods.
Civil sttlmnts paid by th city on bhalf of an officr usually ar not takn from th
polic budgt but ar paid from gnral city funds. In largr citis, vn significant payouts in
ths cass do not hav much of an ffct on th city's oprations, and only lad to chang whn
thy bcom an mbarrassmnt. In Philadlphia, for xampl, civil lawsuits on bhalf of victims
of polic misconduct mad hadlins aftr thy rachd rcord highs in 1995 and 1996.
vntually, th thrat of mor lawsuits that could significantly affct th city's budgt forcd city

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officials to accd to a rform plan backd by community ladrs. But that was an xcptional
cas; othr citis continu to pay larg amounts without xamining, acknowldging, or corrcting
th polic activitis that ld to th lawsuits.
How can civil liability b rducd?
Th bst way to avoid this typ of liability is to nsur that polic officrs ar traind
frquntly on th issus discussd abov, as th Courts ar issuing nw opinions in this highly
litigatd ara on a daily basis. In addition, polic dpartmnts should nsur that its policis
addrss ths issus. If an officr is appropriatly traind and th ncssary policis ar in plac,
it is unlikly that an officr would violat an individual's civil rights. Howvr, it is important to
rmmbr that policis ar not sufficint if th custom in th polic dpartmnt is to ignor th
policis. If such is th cas, it is ncssary to bgin disciplining thos officrs who flagrantly
violat th policis. Allowing th custom to continu will rsult in suprvisor and mployr
liability, rgardlss of how good th policis ar.
Th bst way to avoid polic liability for an unlawful sarch or sizur is to rquir polic
officrs to gt an arrst or sarch warrant whnvr practicabl. If an arrst or sarch warrant is
obtaind, th courts ar mor likly to clar th officr of any wrongdoing, so long as h did not
mak a fals statmnt to th judg in obtaining th sarch and/or arrst warrant. A policy should
b implmntd rquiring all officrs to obtain a warrant whnvr possibl. If it is not
practicabl to obtain a warrant prior to conducting th sarch and/or arrst, thn th officr must
b awar of his rights, as wll as th suspct's rights, in ordr to avoid liability. It is axiomatic
that a polic officr is prmittd to arrst a prson, without a warrant for a misdmanor or
flony committd in his prsnc or for a flony not committd in his prsnc, so long as thr
is probabl caus for making th arrst.

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Rfrncs
Richard . & Ilann M. 2000.Why Civil Rights Lawsuits Do Not Dtr Polic Misconduct: Th
Conundrum of Indmnification And a Proposd Solution. Fordham Urban Law Journal
Stacy A. & Kulr P., 2001. How to Avoid Polic Liability
Th Polic Accountability Small Claims Collctiv. Su th polic in Small Claims Court! A
Guid: do it yourslf - or do it with hlp
Civil Liability for Us of Dadly Forc Part Thr Suprvisory Liability and
Nglignt/Accidntal Acts. Monthly Law Journal, 2008(1)
Davis, John J. (1999). Polic Misconduct and Civil Rights Law. Rcivd January 4, 2011 from
http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Nov/1/126320.html