Posted on Sep 20, 2020
Police Settlements: How The Cost Of Misconduct Impacts Cities And Taxpayers
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For months, protests over the police involved killing of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, George Floyd in Minnesota and others around the country reinvigorated an intense debate over policing. Then when Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville, Ky., recently announced the city would pay $12 million to Taylor's family and institute a number of police reforms, that highlighted an aspect less discussed — the financial impact of police misconduct on cities and taxpayers.
Cities can face hundreds of lawsuits every year charging, among other things, that police used excessive or deadly force or made a false arrest. Many times the details of settlements are hidden behind confidentiality agreements. UCLA Law Prof. Joanna Schwartz studies how jurisdictions budget and pay for police legal expenses. She says problems of police violence are not limited to large cities and although payouts can total in the millions, more often they are in the thousands of dollars range.
"The number of cases filed and the number of dollars paid to resolve cases depends very much where in the country you live," Schwartz says.
Cities can face hundreds of lawsuits every year charging, among other things, that police used excessive or deadly force or made a false arrest. Many times the details of settlements are hidden behind confidentiality agreements. UCLA Law Prof. Joanna Schwartz studies how jurisdictions budget and pay for police legal expenses. She says problems of police violence are not limited to large cities and although payouts can total in the millions, more often they are in the thousands of dollars range.
"The number of cases filed and the number of dollars paid to resolve cases depends very much where in the country you live," Schwartz says.
Police Settlements: How The Cost Of Misconduct Impacts Cities And Taxpayers
Posted from npr.org
Police
Law Enforcement
Taxes
Posted 5 y ago
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The unfortunate fact is sometimes they are the easy way out and not justice.
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The story assumes misconduct simply on the basis of payout when, as in Michael Browns case... there was no misconduct. Michael Brown instigated that from start to finish. Had he simply gotten out of the middle of the street, he would likely be alive today. Instead he chose to be an asshat and attacked the officer with lethal intent as it was proved Brown went for the officers gun and thus brought about his own end. There was no misconduct.
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