California Police Misconduct Laws Passed
“Police misconduct” is a general phrase used to describe police officials who carry out unlawful actions, typically taking advantage of their position of authority. Police misconduct litigation is a rapidly expanding field in the legal world. Previously a niche specialty for civil rights attorneys, police misconduct has recently become commonly incorporated into broader practices, such as personal injury and criminal law.
This phenomenon is relatively recent, having occurred over the past 15 years. One cited reason for this is that social media and easily accessible videos allow police abuse to be shown to the masses. The proliferation of evidence captured by cell phone video footage may be significantly responsible for the rise in the demand for police misconduct litigation because footage makes it easier to prove wrongdoing, and greatly strengthens a plaintiff’s case.1
Police Misconduct Takes Center Stage
In recent years, there has been an increased public pressure to regulate and punish police misconduct. When more incidents are brought to light in public, more victims are willing to come forward. The beating of Rodney King and the resulting riots in Los Angeles is one of the most notable examples of how video footage can have a strong impact on the public consciousness. Some more recent examples include the cases of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
As a result of the widely disseminated cellphone video footage of Garner dying after being put in a chokehold by a police officer, Garner’s family won one of the largest settlements in history from the New York City Police Department at $5.9 million.2 When photos of the unarmed Brown lying dead after allegedly being shot by police were published, public outrage ensued. These events caused widespread debate over what constitutes excessive force and what measures are acceptable for police in the course of duty.
California Takes a Stand Against Police Misconduct
Recently, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills (SB411 and SB277) regulating police conduct in California.
SB411 stipulates that photographing and recording police in public areas is insufficient for a charge of obstruction of justice.
SB277 prohibits the use of grand juries in trials involving police shootings. The use of grand juries in the Michael Brown and John Crawford III cases resulted in decisions to not indict the officers involved.3 Many critics of grand juries believe the procedure lacks transparency as important evidence is presented in a closed (private) hearing.4
What Do You Think About California Police Misconduct Laws?
The debate regarding police misconduct involves many issues: how much latitude should we be willing to grant to officers who use force in the line of duty? How can we balance excessive force with restricting force when officers may face extremely dangerous and high tension situations on a daily basis? How can we more effectively prosecute police misconduct? Do you think California’s new laws is a good faith effort to protect citizens against police misconduct? Please share your opinions with us in the comments section below.
1. [http://www.ibtimes.com/police-brutality-cases-embraced-personal-injury-attorneys-looking-big-settlements-2065999]↩
2. [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/nyregion/eric-garner-case-is-settled-by-new-york-city-for-5-9-million.html]↩
3. [http://www.thenation.com/article/why-its-impossible-indict-cop/]↩
4. [http://reason.com/blog/2015/08/12/no-more-secret-grand-juries-in-californi]↩