Section 1983 complaints that assert claims against multiple police officers can be especially challenging for counsel and the courts. These actions most commonly allege that police arrests, uses of force, and searches violated the Fourth Amendment. The defendant may have been the arresting officer, an officer who employed force, an officer serving as “back up,” a supervisory officer, or officer who was merely “on the scene.”
Multiple police officer defendant cases may present difficult issues (1) concerning the identification of the officers; (2) determining which officer(s) did what; and (3) evaluating whether an officer’s actions or inactions justify the imposition of §1983 liability. We assume, initially, that the plaintiff and her attorney are able to identify the officers involved in the incident. This is no small assumption and we will return to this issue later in the column.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]