Read these articles, then YOU decide...
US Police Officers Should Be Required Professional Liability Insurance: Expert
US police officers should be required to carry their own professional liability insurance so that they have personal consequences for their actions, believes Michelle Gross, President of Communities United Against Police Brutality.
He explained that the shooting of Mike Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, and subsequent uprising in Ferguson had focused renewed attention on the issue of policing, with the community proposing many new solutions.
WASHINGTON, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - US police officers should be required to carry their own professional liability insurance so that they have personal consequences for their actions, believes Michelle Gross, President of Communities United Against Police Brutality.
"Our organization is working to require police officers to carry their own professional liability insurance, so that officers who engage in brutality and misconduct will have personal consequences for their actions, and so that "repeat offenders" become uninsurable and are forced out of the profession," Gross told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
He explained that the shooting of Mike Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, and subsequent uprising in Ferguson had focused renewed attention on the issue of policing, with the community proposing many new solutions.
The issue of policing in the United States is up again after Wednesday's cop-involved shooting in St. Louis, Missouri. African-American teenager Vonderrick Myers was killed by an off-duty white police officer, who also works for a security company. The incident occurred when the officer tried to make a pedestrian check. Myers reportedly ran away, shooting at the officer three times. According to the police, the officer returned the fire fearing for his life.
"This latest fatal shooting by St. Louis police continues a pattern of reckless disregard for the lives of young Black men, and provides yet another example of why police agencies cannot investigate themselves," Gross asserted, noting that an off-duty police officer unleashed a volley of 17 rounds on a young man, although witnesses claim that Myers was carrying only a sandwich.
"Yet, police administration immediately declared the killing justified," Gross pointed out.
"The continued targeting of black youth by police in St. Louis and across the country is an epidemic," Gross stressed. "The US Department of Justice must step in to stem the tide of police-on-black violence as well as police violence against other people of color, the poor and homeless, and mentally disabled."
The officer who shot and killed Myers has been placed on administrative leave, and the investigation is underway.
The killing immediately sparked the protests. One arrest was made, and three police cars were damaged during the unrest.
The death of Myers is the second such incident in St. Louis County since August, when police officer Darren Wilson, also white, shot dead Michael Brown, another 18-year-old African American.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/analysis/20141010/193881823.html#ixzz3SjlG1ef5
Should Minneapolis police officers carry their own insurance?
Brandt Williams
Members of the group Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) say ‘yes.’ The goal, members say, is to cut down on instances of police misconduct and reduce the amount of money the city of Minneapolis pays out for officer misconduct legal matters. An MPR News analysis of data from the Minneapolis city attorney’s office show that since 2003, the city has paid out nearly $21 million in police misconduct settlements, judgments and claims.
I spoke with CUAPB member Dave Bicking last month after police chief Janee Harteau announced that the officer involved in the fatal collision with a motorcyclist on May 10 of this year would face no criminal charges or discipline from the incident. Bicking handed me a flyer spelling out the case for self-insured cops.
“The city could pay the base rate of the insurance premiums, but officers would have to pay any increases in their premiums due to the their personal history. Too many claims or other evidence of risk would cost the officer extra, an effective form of discipline,” reads the flyer. “Consistently brutal cops would become uninsurable, and could therefore not continue on the Minneapolis police force.”
However, some say if police officers become more worried about getting in trouble than capturing bad guys, public safety could suffer. In 2009 I spoke to attorney Gregg Corwin for a story on police misconduct lawsuits. Corwin often represents officers who get fired or harshly disciplined.
“There’s a joke among officers: ‘You never get fired for just sitting in your car,” said Corwin.
Corwin also said unlike most other city employees, police officers often have to come in physical contact with people who don’t want to be restrained. Complaints and legal action are just part of the job.
Members of CUAPB are trying to collect 15,000 signatures to put the self-insurance question on the 2014 ballot. They’re meeting tonight at the Churchill apartment building on Marquette Ave. downtown at 6 p.m. to discuss the petition drive.
________________________________
*Disclaimer: We are not legal authorities and any advice provided should be taken as informational only. Do your own research and consult with a professional.*
Despite having insurance to cover law enforcement action, Chris and his family have had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket to cover all of his expenses. He’s had to hire five separate lawyers to handle the wide variety of issues resulting from the incident. In addition to his criminal charges, the deceased’s family brought a civil suit against him for wrongful death, his insurance company sued him for filing a claim on his policy, and he’s had to retain defense and appeals lawyers in both Hawaii and Virginia. Plus, he’s had to pay for numerous flights and housing in both locations for extended periods of time–expensive items that aren’t necessarily covered by insurance.
Let’s take a few minutes to talk about insurance, lawsuits, and professional associations. Many of you in the law enforcement community may be thinking “that sucks for him, but that’s why I have liability insurance.” Well, it’s not quite that simple. Chris had professional liability insurance and was covered under his renter’s insurance for negligence/wrongful death, and they are actually costing him more money.
When the civil suit was brought against Chris for wrongful death, he filed a claim under his renter’s insurance policy to cover the expense of hiring a civil attorney. The insurance company didn’t want to pay, so they turned around and sued Chris, and he had to hire yet another attorney to fight his own insurance company! His lawyer won that suit, so the insurance company is forced to cover Chris for the wrongful death suit in Hawaii, but this policy is very limited financially. Luckily that case has been stayed and will not proceed until the criminal case is over, but the future costs of the lawsuit are still pending, and the policy will likely not be enough to cover all the expenses.
Professional liability insurance is designed to protect officers from being held personally liable for acting within the scope of their employment. It is recommended for all law enforcement officers due the nature of the job and our overly-litigious society. Over a year after the incident, Chris’ attorneys are still fighting with his professional liability insurance policy to provide coverage. At this point, they have neither declined nor agreed, but even if they do end up covering, the coverage limit of his particular policy will only reimburse up to half of what has already been invoiced by his attorneys. The limit has long been passed, and no future costs will be covered.
This is not to say that you should not have professional liability or any other type of insurance to cover you. If and when Chris’ insurance pays his claim, it’s going to help him out quite a lot–but it still won’t be nearly enough since his case is so complex. Everyone should be insured! Just make sure you’re protected to the fullest extent, know your coverages/exceptions and keep in mind the insurance company may not automatically pay your bills just because you pay theirs.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) is the largest federal law enforcement professional association. At the time, Chris wasn’t a member of FLEOA, but he became one after the incident. We can’t say enough about what a difference FLEOA has made for Chris–they have supported him throughout the process, providing legal advice even before he became a member, meeting with his attorneys, writing articles about his case, using it as an example to support the Officer Safety Act of 2012, and they are continuing to lobby on Chris’ behalf. If you’re a federal law enforcement officer, it is in your best interest to join FLEOA.
That’s it for today’s lessons to be learned. We believe these are the kind of things that every officer should be aware of, and unfortunately it took our friend Chris learning the hard way to really hit it home for us. Please donate to help him keep fighting the system so that his case doesn’t set a terrible precedent for the future.
Friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and tell everyone you know. Personally, we’re sending an email to every cop we know. We need to spread the word about what’s actually going on just as much as we need to raise money. Every little bit helps, so please pass it on.
READ ABOUT: Little Rock's Newest Corrupt Police Chief Kenton Buckner
Police Professional Liability
Why do I need this policy when the city or county I work for already has a general liability policy?
You may need coverage because the potential exists for personal responsibility for certain activities you may engage in. This liability is not properly covered by a general liability policy. It is not designed to replace them.
The balance of rights between the lawbreaker and the law has changed. Courts have made it easier for criminals and suspects to bring suits against law enforcement and criminal justice personnel. Awards have skyrocketed and the courts have recognized extended liability of the defendants' superiors, including the mayor, municipal manager and executives. To make matters worse, the number of suits has increased dramatically. While many cases do not result in settlements or judgements, all have to be defended. At the price of litigation today, this can be devastating to municipal budgets.
Another threat to law enforcement personnel is the lack of specialized experience on the part of legal counsel once a suit has been filed. Because it is also in our interest to minimize the number of judgments brought against our policyholders, we provide quailified defense attorneys. However, we do welcome your recommendations of local counsel.
New legal interpretations and liberalizations of the Civil Rights Act have left the field of liability wide open.
Often times, charges don't stop with the officer and neither does our Law Enforcement Liability protection. If you don't know about VICARIOUS LIABILITY and how court rulings have changed, you'd better find out now! If you go to court, the average defense cost is $10,000, it is not uncommon for defense costs to exceed $10,000 whether you're held liable or not. So even if you win, you lose. Our liability program is designed to protect you against vicarious liability charges.
The customary complaint is failure to adequately train subordinates, but vicarous liability can also include hiring (Did you weed out the unfit?), failure to direct (Do you have a written manual of policies and procedures?), negligent assignment (Was a subordinate unsuitable for the assignment?), negligent retention (Why wasn't this person fired some time ago?) and negligent entrustment (Did you properly supervise "off-duty" officers where they used a gun, car, night stick or other property belonging to the governmental agency?).
There are more facets to vicarious liability than you can imagine and new exposures will be continuallly created. It doesn't make sense to face the potential loss of income and even financial ruin from known exposures that can be covered. Consult with your attorney.
READ ABOUT: Little Rock's Newest Corrupt Police Chief Kenton Buckner
Program Features
Best Rating:
Availability:
Minimum
Premium:
Minimum
Deductible:
Limits Available:
Selected Policy
Features:
A rated (Excellent) or better
Admitted paper in AL, DE, GA, IL, KY, ME, MI, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN and WI
Departments serving populations less than 100,000. Larger
operations considered on a special acceptance basis.
Coverage also available for individual Constables, Marshals
and other process servers
$1,500
$2,500
Up to $5,000,000