When a successful litigation takes place the individual police officer is sued along with the police department or federal law enforcement agency are sued for the law enforcement officer’s action. The reason behind the police department getting sued as well is that the police officers actions reflect back to the department. Furthermore, the principal target of damages by plaintiffs' lawyers are aimed at the police department, due to their ability to pay larger judgments or settlements, but an officer typically is targeted as well. This can cause significant stress for a law enforcement officer as the civil process unfolds. (Berry) Examples of civil claims that might be made against police officers are cases of excessive force, police misconduct,
In 2005 NYPD Detective, first grade, James E. Griffith called internal affairs to report he was being pressured by a fellow officer to lie and take the blame during an internal inquiry for the mishandling of a homicide investigation by his unit (Goldstein, 2012). Another detective and union official claimed in his deposition that Griffin was a rat because he went to internal affairs instead of the union (Marzulli, 2013). According to the United States District Court Eastern District of New York’s memorandum of decision the retaliation was immediate, included adverse personnel actions and continued though out his career in different units until Detective Griffith was effectively forced to retire due to the harassment in 2009 (James Griffin v. the City of New York, n.d.). Griffin eventually filed a legal sit against The City of New York, the NYPD and two of the officers involved individually. This case study will analyze the incident, whistleblower laws and the ethical challenges involved.
When political anarchy, social injustices, and crime end up leading to civil depravities that go against the foundation of democracy, society depends on the police to come in and keep the peace, while attempting to restore the order. These officers are asked to pursue criminals in vehicles, and on foot, repeatedly expose themselves to the dangers of the crimes, and remain calm while being under pressure at all moments on the job, and even off duty. Being an officer of the law takes a special person
Do you remember the lawsuit about the woman who ordered the McDonald’s coffee and spilled it in her lap and sued McDonald’s because it did not have a warning label on it? What about the woman who fell in the fountain at the mall while texting and wants to sue the mall? These lawsuits may seem fairly farfetched. They fall into the category called frivolous.
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
One of the main powers law enforcement officers carry is the authority to make citizens involuntarily give up their rights. Most people when confronted by police get mild to moderate panic reaction, can become nervous or anxious, and do as much as possible to limit the time spent with the officer. Due to the difference in power between a citizen and a police officer, citizens often unknowingly, give up their constitutional rights when an officer acts tough or bullies them (Guidelines?1).
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
Police officers provide an important and necessary function; however, in recent months, there have been many people who have expressed their opinion about the police acting inappropriately. The displeased people feel that the police have discriminated against and mistreated African Americans. One widely known example of perceived mistreatment is the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. According to Buchanan, Fessenden, and Lai (2015), Michael Brown stole merchandise from a convenience store and proceeded to walk down the middle of the street. Officer Wilson stopped him and recognized Brown as a suspect in the robbery (Buchanan et al., 2015). According
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
In July 2003, Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Shanks of Multnomah County Oregon was performing a routine traffic stop on a vehicle driven by William Barrett. During this stop, Shanks arrested Barrett because of an outstanding warrant and then searched the car. A pressure-cooker found in the trunk was believed to be used in the making of methamphetamine. Barrett informed Shanks that the owner of the pressure-cooker was “Gunner Crapser,” and that he could be found at the Econolodge Motel in a room registered to a woman named Summer Twilligear (FindLaw, 2007, Factual and Procedural Background section, para. 2). Deputy Shanks quickly learned that there was an outstanding warrant for a “Gunner Crapser” but to not confuse the wanted man, whose name was not actually “Gunner Crapser,” with someone else using this name.
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
In the Ferguson article (2015), there was an example given about an African American man claimed that he was standing outside of of Wal-Mart, an officer called him a “stupid motherf****r” and a “bastard.” According to the man, a lieutenant was on the scene and did nothing to reproach the officer, instead threatening to arrest the man (p. 80). This demonstrates that the police in Ferguson had no respect for the civilian and even though the lieutenant was present, they did nothing. The officer was not suspended nor held responsible for this incident. By failing to hold officers accountable, it sends a message that officers can behave as they like, “regardless of law or policy, and even if caught, that punishment will be light.” (Ferguson, 86). This message serves to excuse officer wrongdoing and heighten community distrust. This is also to say that police can possibly get away with murder because they are higher officials and work for the
Police violence remains a dire human right violation, especially in the United States. Over the last decade, police have applied force and aggression in ways that leave people wondering if they are discharging their duties. Recently, law enforcement seems to have taken a different turn characterized by aggression and violence when dealing with the public. Cases of unjustified shootings, physical assault, fatal chokings and violent treatment have contributed to the ongoing problem of police brutality in the America. Worse still is the fact that a greater proportion of these cases go unreported and undetected. This has partially encouraged violent police officers to continue applying force when dealing with the public. This new law enforcement
A police officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to protect and serve all people, not to ignore racial equality. Because the U.S consists of many different races and ethnic groups, the ongoing conflict between police officers and citizens of color is constantly rising. Although police officers today are no longer allowed to have racial bias, which can be described as, attitudes or stereotype used against individuals of color to define their actions and decisions, officers sometimes abuse their authority going around racial impact tools and policies. This results in citizens viewing it as discrimination and mass criminalization. By changing the way laws and regulations unfairly impact Black and Brown communities can improve the justice
Cheh, M. "Are lawsuits an answer to police brutality." Police violence: Understanding and controlling police abuse of force (1996): 247-72.
In any given setting, police officers are responsible for maintaining order within a, sometimes overly chaotic, society. They are given the responsibility of acting as protectors of the defenseless and upholding justice, at the risk of injury to themselves or even the loss of their own life. In addition, it is inevitable that an officer will eventually come into physical contact with an individual, who may be volatile or avoiding arrest, which nonetheless increases the odds of a physical confrontation. The distressing truth is that, although being assaulted is not a requirement of their profession, it is essentially unavoidable. With that said, police officers realize this fact and readily accept the reality that at any given moment, be