Describe and discuss police discretion, and the various control mechanisms available i.e., internal

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Discuss police officer federal liability concerning a law suit under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, as the cornerstone of police civil liability at the federal level.

Civil lawsuits against police officers and departments have become a common way of seeking "accountability" of a sort, with larger municipalities paying victims and their families tens of millions of dollars, through either pre- or mid-trial settlements or civil jury awards following judgments against officers and/or the police department.149 While victims certainly deserve compensation when officers violate their human rights, civil remedies are never a sufficient form ofaccountability because they almost never address flawed management, policies, or patterns of abuse, nor do they hold an individual officer financially responsible.150 And settlements in particular are problematic, especially in high-profile cases, by leaving responsibility for an abuse incident unresolved in the minds of the both the community and police department.

Under Title 42 U.S. Code Section 1983, the federal civil rights civil statute, individuals may file lawsuits against an offending officer, police department, or jurisdiction.151 Although the federal law, Section 1983, is used most frequently, plaintiffs may also use state-level statutes in bringing abuse lawsuits. The statute mandates that:

Any person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress....152

Success rates in bringing civil lawsuits against officers vary dramatically from city to city, with some cities settling early and quietly while others vigorously fight brutality suits. If a case goes to trial, some juries have shown a predisposition to believe police officers' accounts, particularly when the victim has a criminal record. The strongest cases presented by victims of serious abuse are often settled by a city to avoid embarrassing attention; in such settlements, the department rarely acknowledges that an officer was in the wrong. Often, parties are sworn to secrecy regarding the amount of the settlement or information about the officer that may have been disclosed during the process.153

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Describe and discuss police discretion, and the various control mechanisms available i.e., internal

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