An LEOs Liability

[EagleEye]

What can a police officer be held *personally* responsible for?

I'm not sure just how to ask this, but I'm wondering what the equivalent of malpractice is in police work and what you stand to lose in the event of litigation against you -- not against your department. And I'm not thinking about "Good Samritan" type of stuff (one of my previous posts); I understand how that works. I'm thinking more in terms of false arrest, excessive force, defamation of character, etc.

Can people sue you to the point where you'd lose your home and other assets, or does the agency that employs you take the heat? And if they don't, how can you protect yourself?

I know it's kind of a dumb question but as an older "wannabe" with substantial assets it's just one more thing I need to understand before I take the plunge. Thanks for any attempts to clarify this.

EE

[Ranger337]

Every situation will have a different answer. But some of the things that are the biggest liabiltys are misconduct, abuse of powers, and excessive use of force.

In some situations the department and the violating officer may lose money. If the officer is in gross violation of dept. policy, and or the law he may be left on his own. But since police officers usually don't have a lot of money the suer may go after the dept. too because they have more "bucks".

Ranger337

[ranger]

In a 1985 action, a LEO can be held civilly liable for negligence. In normal terms, negligence must be proven in all the below areas:

1. The Officer had a bonafide "Duty to Act with Care"

2. The Officer neglected to perform that duty

3. Because of that neglect some type of injury occured (physical, emotional, etc.

4. The injury sustained would not have occured unless 1,2, and 3 above were met.

Be Safe,
JM

[Bravo8]

As a general rule, an officer cannot be held personaly liable if he was within the scope of his authority, and followed departmental policy, provided that such policy was lawful.

But then again, you can be sued for anything nowadays.

[bjl1313]

A LEO can be personally sued for any action he/she takes or does not take. Whether the suit will be dismissed depends on the situation and the state you are in. First the city and dept will be listed in the suit(deep pockets), then the LEO (to cover their bases). The city and dept lawyers will prove that they did the best they could in training you and providing SOPs to follow. This is to separate you from them, so get a good lawyer yourself. They are only looking to limit THEIR liability not yours. If you are protected by their defense then that an added bonus. If they prove that they did every thing they could and that your actions were outside the training and SOPs then you are left to pay the piper. That is when you will be sued and may have to pay.
By state I mean that in FL a LEO is covered by "good faith" clause and has a limited immunity. In NJ there is NO "good faith" or immunity.
The major problem is that people are sue happy and police depts are big targets. There are some legit case but many bogus suits. I believe the way to cut down on bogus suits is to counter sue the person for loss of possibile wages or advances due to negative slander. Also LEO should take the time to sue people that assault them. YES you can sue someone that is arrested for battery LEO. Just like they can sue you for battery. This may cut down on the battery LEOs. And people with money are arrested for this, not just scumbags.

[CO_Hopeful]

I think this topic is one that you often hear about when cops talk about the stress that they must face daily. The choices that cops have to act/don't act, shoot/don't shoot, etc....are huge decisions that are always scrutinized. In a recent class in our academy we've heard officers talk about being faced with a shooting situation, and something that actually crosses their mind during that incident is "am I going to get sued?" Here an officer is in a life and death situation, and they have to have a law suit come into play? That is ridiculous in my book, but something you have to deal with, because afterall....it comes with the territory.

I guess the easiest way to deal with this stress is to really concentrate on following guidelines the way they should be handled, and avoid "pushing the limit".

I would hate to work in one of those states that does not have a "good faith" statute....and to me, that is a tremendous lack of support.

Lawsuits and liability are a big deterrent for a lot of people to get into the police career...but hey, you can get sued at McDonalds for serving coffee that is "too hot" also....I guess we should all go on welfare and sit in our homes where it is safe.:idea:

[DelC]

Think about being with a dept 4-years longer than what is needed to retire and you get into a situation where your weapon goes of accidentally while in a scuffle with the bad guy. The bad guy gets shot in the head, comes to court, as a vegetable in a wheelchair and is suing you for your retirement pension that you planned on drawing the rest of your life. This really happened to one of my co-workers. The case drug on for a couple years and I left the area before it was decided. I don't know how it turned out.

[FedAgent]

The code section/case law on which these civil rights allegations are based are:

For a local/state officer: 42USC1983

For a federal officer: "Bivens"


If you go to any U.S district court web page you can read about these cases. Go to one of the university law databases and look up these laws first and you should have a better understanding. All the previous posts, however, have hit the nail right on the head.

Stay Safe!