Introduction
Police officers and their actions fall under the scrutiny of the society and the Constitutional Amendments that protect their rights. Although state legislatures adopt different approaches to arrest criminal behavior, the police departments across the nation are subjective to Federal laws in case of violations. The most common complaints against the police in recent years include excessive force, violation of civil rights, unbecoming of an officer, and deliberate indifference. Police officers enjoy limited immunity and cannot be accountable individually. However, the department as a whole will face the damages. In the political climate today with shrinking police budgets, lawsuits are potentially devastating for police departments (Ryan, 2009).
Importance of Negligent Training
Extended training sessions by District Attorneys and defense attorneys alike for police officers during regular intervals are important to keep controversies at bay. It is not uncommon for police departments to allow such training sessions for all ranks. The regular members will follow procedure only as instructed by the seniors. The police force is an exclusive membership that adheres to peer pressure and values loyalty supremely. The approaches adopted on the streets or when handling a potentially dangerous situation will remain the same for a particular police department (Texas Municipal League, 2007). For example, a policy for stop-search-and-frisk will find implementation across the city if enforced by the precinct captain. However, the policy is a violation of civil rights and ignorance by higher command will adversely affect the relationship between police and civilians.
The State police are accountable to Mayors and Governors. However, it is important for the police command to understand the implications of federal law. Warrantless searches based on probable cause are in violation of civilians if adopted as a group policy by a police department of a certain city. The cost of a lawsuit against a police department is an expensive affair with the City picking up the tab on most occasions. The police officers should be familiar with what is legal and what is not. For example, police officers cannot assault a perpetrator who leads them into a long and dangerous high-speed chase. They have to treat him with the same courtesy as they would with any other traffic violator. Use of excessive force might find justification within the ranks however; there will not be any leniency under the purview of federal laws (Thomson Reuters, 2016).
The training is important since police officer need to familiarize themselves with statues that change regularly. It helps to stay updated and will enable the police to discharge their duties without prejudice. The training must include inputs from other divisions within the Criminal Justice System. For example, police should know the proper protocol while handing over a suspect to the Department of Corrections. They should be aware of the expectations of other departments that are essential to complete the cycle in a criminal case. Similarly, the commandants of different law enforcement agencies must congregate in a joint training program to discuss State policy, new laws, and their relevance to federal laws.
Police officers should also know their rights in order to perform their duties effectively. It is a common practice that traffic stops result in drug related arrests especially among the African-American community. The racial profiling defense is a prominent move minorities use to defend against the search during a traffic stop. While traffic violations do not have any rigid punishments, possession of drug charges are steep in certain states. Hence, it is a common defense tactic. The police officers making the arrest must know their rights in a similar situation and follow protocol to allow the chain of command to operate flawlessly. It is not uncommon for rookie police officers to feel undue stress when confronted with the charge of racial profiling (Swanson, Territo, and Taylor, 2012).
Defenses available for police officers
The accountability and liability is extensive under the circumstances. The only defenses for a police officer in such circumstances are the qualified immunity defense. However, for this defense to apply, the police officer should not violate any constitutional rights of the plaintiff (Schott, 2012). Furthermore, if there are violations, the good faith defense will come to play. According to this defense, the police officer needs to prove that he acted upon the information on hand that he believed was valid. This defense plays a crucial role in undermining lawsuits that involve outstanding warrants, or searches during traffic stops (Dempsey and Forst, 2010).
Trot Liability against Supervisors
Training programs every six months for police supervisors will enable them to keep up with newer laws and recent Supreme Court rulings in the matter of staying updated. Trial attorneys are the best people for the job since they have experience in trying such cases. In addition, they have an in-depth understanding of the law that the majority of police personnel might lack. Moreover, Supervisors will face negligence charges if certain practices or civil liberty violations are rampant in their sectors. The police like any other civilian force take initiatives from the leadership.
Conclusion
When there is widespread use of a certain tactic that results in a civil liberty violation, the supervisors are liable to face class action. While individual police officers cannot face prosecution, the leadership is liable for prosecution under Trot liability. Moreover, police training will also face litigation if the negligent training is not part of the curriculum. The lack of training in statues is equally harmful since police officers have the responsibility to oversee morals and the enforcement of the law over a civilian population that enjoys specific liberties through the Constitution. The implementation of periodic negligent training is mandatory for effective policing sans controversy.
References
Dempsey, J. S., and Forst, Linda S. (2010). Police. Cengage Learning. Clifton Park: NY. Pp. 119 – 120.
Ryan, J (2009). Overview of Police Liability. Retrieved from: http://www.llrmi.com/articles/legal_update/liabilityoverview.shtml
Schott, R. G. (2012). Qualified Immunity. Retrieved from: https://leb.fbi.gov/2012/september/qualified-immunity-how-it-protects-law-enforcement-officers
Swanson, C. R., Territo, L., and Taylor, R. W. (2012). Police Administration - Structures, Processes, and Behaviors. Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River: NJ. Pp. 593-637.
Texas Municipal League Staff (2007). Suggested topics for training police departments in section 1983 liability. Retrieved from: http://www.tml.org/legal_pdf/Section1983-PoliceTraining.pdf
Thomson Reuters Staff (2016). Police Misconduct and Civil Rights. Retrieved from: http://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/police-misconduct-and-civil-rights.html
