Cleveland avoiding victim won payouts

[2001sleeper]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...heme-to-avoid-paying-victims-of-police-abuse/

Pretty sad that state/local governments would come up with practices like this. Talk about losing all hope in the justice system.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Sucks for sure... but the people who really suffer are the taxpayers. Paying out these large sums takes money from every other area of local government. Money doesn't grow on trees.

U.M.

 

[Drive XR7]

The DOJ released a report detailing a history excessive force by the CPD. It's even worse made by this report that they avoid at all costs accepting any liability for their mistakes. There is supposed to be reform underway but who knows if it will actually make a difference.

 

[Deceptive]

Gee, shocker there. More political corruption.

 

[SolarYellow]

Just a few more people I hope drop dead in terrible ways! I need another notebook already.

 

[black4vcobra]

Dispicable

Sucks for sure... but the people who really suffer are the taxpayers. Paying out these large sums takes money from every other area of local government. Money doesn't grow on trees.

U.M.

The police unions should be the ones on the hook for payouts in the case of officer misconduct. They protect the officers right? They demand $80k+ salaries for their officers. Let their insurance cover their officer misconduct.

 

[Weather Man]

My antivirus went nuts clicking on the OPs link.

 

[cbj5259]

Dispicable



The police unions should be the ones on the hook for payouts in the case of officer misconduct. They protect the officers right? They demand $80k+ salaries for their officers. Let their insurance cover their officer misconduct.

It's no different than private industry. The officers are employees of the municipality. Therefore the municipality has the responsibility. If Joe blow messes up on the assembly line and does something heinous, the company is sued...not the employee. The employee maybe disciplined, fired and arrested, but the civil liability rests with the corporation. The only way to get what you are asking for is to remove all qualified immunity from all police and make them independent contractors that have to insure themselves...with the amount of frivolous lawsuits against police, good luck finding anyone willing to be a cop at that point.

Just an FYI, there are cases when Officers do lose qualified immunity. When an Officer acts with blatant and knowing disregard for a person's civil rights then they do generally lose qualified immunity. At that point they are personally on the hook for any judgement against them. (An example would be those NYC cops who sodomized the prisoner with their nightsticks). It's only cases where police violate someone's civil rights without malice or intent that the municipality is held on the hook. (Example would be a pursuit that becomes dangerous and an innocent bystander is killed as a result of the chase...there was no intent or malice but nonetheless their was negligence perhaps due to policy violations or lack of training).