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Civil liability is a growing concern in every police officer's life, professionally and personally.
The specter of a civil lawsuit evokes concern from the law enforcement profession at every level. A civil lawsuit can be based on virtually any action that an officer takes, and even on an action which he or she elects not to take - whether on duty or off.
Civil litigation concerning police misconduct is becoming a new form of exploitation. In 1980 alone, 20,000 police liability cases were brought to court. By 1990, that figure had nearly doubled.1
The huge amount spent on police liability cases is not all due to successfully litigated claims proving the police's liability. Millions are spent successfully defending the actions of law enforcement personnel and their agencies as well. Because defending a single case can take hundreds of man-hours, it is often more cost-effective for a police department or city attorney's office to offer a settlement than to litigate the case.
In some cases, involving allegations of police misconduct, there exists the possibility of criminal as well as civil liability. While statistically, civil lawsuits against police are more prevalent than are criminal actions, it's important to remember that an individual law enforcement officer may be charged with a crime as well as be sued civilly for a particular act.
Any officer who has been the subject of a civil liability claim that alleges misconduct can attest to the additional jobrelated stress that is associated with it.
The Law of Tort
The most prevalent area of police civil liability today originates from what is known as the law of tort. A tort is the term generally used for a civil action or claim brought by a person against an entity or its representatives. There are three elements to a tort action: (1) the existence of a legal duty of the defendant to the plaintiff; (2) a breech of that duty is alleged; and (3) a damage has occurred as a result of the breech.
Many different types of civil wrongs are amassed under the category of tort. These can include battery, negligence, the infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and trespass as well other sub-classifications of these categories. The majority of tort claims...