Often the civil lawsuits are about alleging that an officer committed a crime and a judge has to determine whether that’s the case. The officer is usually represented by a police union who usually invoke Qualified Immunity to absolve the officer i.e. there was probable cause for their actions.
Admittedly, my legalese isn’t great. However, I wasn’t implying that the union itself represents the officer, just that they provide support in that aspect. I know it’s for all government officials, the focus here was on the police so I stuck with that.
I agree on the last part. Often it feels like government officials are above the law.
You ABSOLUTELY can have a cop sued for making a minor mistake. They can carry malpractice insurance, just like I do. Don’t give me that shit. There is no reason cops should be immune from lawsuits
The responses and downvotes are making me chuckle. How dare you understand and explain what ‘qualified immunity’ is and how it works, to people who don’t.
Cops are rarely convicted of crimes (in my opinion) because cop crimes rarely come to court. Even when there’s prosecution, everyone — judge, jury, prosecutors, defense, witnesses, certainly any reporters — walks in with a background of respect and admiration for police. They watched Hawaii Five-O and all the iterations of Law & Order, and listened to hysterical Republicans screaming about crime, and watched channel 7’s coverage of cops heroically hunting for some axe murderer on the subway. Everyone comes to the courtroom eager to give cops the benefit of every doubt.
It takes a truly egregious cop-crime and some sharp lawyering to get past the lifelong-ingrained “Cops are always the good guys” belief.
And of course, ‘qualified immunity’ has nothing to do with anything in criminal court.
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What do you think they are qualified to be immune from?
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Often the civil lawsuits are about alleging that an officer committed a crime and a judge has to determine whether that’s the case. The officer is usually represented by a police union who usually invoke Qualified Immunity to absolve the officer i.e. there was probable cause for their actions.
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Admittedly, my legalese isn’t great. However, I wasn’t implying that the union itself represents the officer, just that they provide support in that aspect. I know it’s for all government officials, the focus here was on the police so I stuck with that.
I agree on the last part. Often it feels like government officials are above the law.
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You ABSOLUTELY can have a cop sued for making a minor mistake. They can carry malpractice insurance, just like I do. Don’t give me that shit. There is no reason cops should be immune from lawsuits
deleted by creator
The responses and downvotes are making me chuckle. How dare you understand and explain what ‘qualified immunity’ is and how it works, to people who don’t.
deleted by creator
Cops are rarely convicted of crimes (in my opinion) because cop crimes rarely come to court. Even when there’s prosecution, everyone — judge, jury, prosecutors, defense, witnesses, certainly any reporters — walks in with a background of respect and admiration for police. They watched Hawaii Five-O and all the iterations of Law & Order, and listened to hysterical Republicans screaming about crime, and watched channel 7’s coverage of cops heroically hunting for some axe murderer on the subway. Everyone comes to the courtroom eager to give cops the benefit of every doubt.
It takes a truly egregious cop-crime and some sharp lawyering to get past the lifelong-ingrained “Cops are always the good guys” belief.
And of course, ‘qualified immunity’ has nothing to do with anything in criminal court.
deleted by creator