Holding Law Enforcement Accountable

Does anyone hold police accountable when misconduct occurs? There’s no denying that police have difficult jobs. They deal with threatening criminals and have to make grave decisions in the blink of an eye. Monday-morning quarterbacking of law enforcement members’ decisions has turned into a national pastime for many, and officers know they can expect cell phone footage to record any police action. The importance of serving and protecting is phenomenal for good cops. But what about officers who are not-so-good? Anyone paying attention in the past several years has seen the videos and heard the tales of officers who brutalize their fellow citizens, and all too often with minor consequences, or none at all, for their actions. Why do so many cops, local and federal, get away with manhandling people with mental health disorders, people of color, juveniles, and other individuals who pose only minimal risk to the community or the officer? Many experts on the subject think that the answer lies in immunity and modern politics.

Financial Accountability? 

In some cases officers may face civil penalties for their actions. But one study revealed that over 99 percent of the damages forked over to plaintiffs in lawsuits, going back to the 1990’s, were not paid by the officers themselves, but by the government, meaning your tax dollars were at work protecting identified rogue officers. This is true even in circumstances where officers were fired or were otherwise disciplined for misconduct. Financial liability is just not in the cards for officers when they are found guilty of engaging in wrongful conduct, and history shows that to be true in cases ranging from obstruction of justice to actual murder charges. That is mainly because of indemnity policies protecting officers.

Police Accountability Declining

Under today’s administration, law enforcement officers have greater access than ever before to legal resources and to indemnification when confronting allegations of brutality or other misconduct. On top of this, public officials who may have considered getting in the way of officers who may be guilty of abuse of power have been warned against doing so, making it even more challenging to hold wayward officers accountable. In addition to all of that, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has halted the fight for civil rights relating to cases levelled at police reform and settlement agreements for local police departments. They’ve obliterated all efforts aimed at detecting and reducing police violence. The cherry on top is that law enforcement officers who’ve already been found guilty of crimes in conjunction with their duties find themselves increasingly prone to be considered for a presidential pardon, regardless of their actions and/or jury verdicts convicting them. Finally, the federal database designed to keep account of federal officers found guilty of misconduct, from the ICE and Border Patrol officers to the FBI, has been eliminated, allowing reprobate officers to transfer across agencies with ease as they elude any checks on power.

Fighting for Your Rights 

In a world where protecting officer’s rights is getting more juice than protecting the rest of us is, it’s more critical than ever that anyone facing criminal charges has a criminal defense attorney focused on protecting your rights. That’s what you can count on by contacting the La Plata & Waldorf criminal defense attorneys at The Law Office of Hammad S. Matin, P.A.. To discuss, schedule a confidential consultation today.

Source:

justicebolt.com/how-police-indemnification-can-go-wrong/