On April 8, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Elmore v. Fulton County School District et al. [i], which is instructive regarding federal lawsuits for false arrest and malicious prosecution under the Fourth Amendment.  The facts of Elmore, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Elmore was employed by the Fulton County School District (the “District”) as a paraprofessional educator. In that capacity, he assisted a classroom teacher in a class with moderately to severely disabled students. One student, who was wheelchair-bound and non-verbal, had a history of biting and scratching himself whenever he got angry or frustrated. The student [...]

Over the last two years it has seemed that overall public support for law enforcement officers has declined. Media coverage of police activities has been markedly skewed toward covering news stories that display law enforcement officers in a negative light. These news reports have portrayed law enforcement in the United States as routinely racist, excessively violent, and frequently intruding on the constitutional rights of the public. Numerous public demonstrations against the police (some peaceful and some violent) have occurred within most of our major cities and college campuses. YouTube is filled with video images of people trying to create controversial [...]

On June 25, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Salvato v. Miley et al. [i], which provides an excellent explanation of the “ratification” as it pertains to potential liability for police and sheriff department’s that exonerate officers after a use of force that is later deemed excessive.  This is Part II of the series; Part I discussed the alleged excessive force by the deputy and implications of failure to intervene.  In summary, Deputy Miley and Deputy Brown responded to a call of a man yelling and cussing at passing cars.  They arrived, got into a physical fight with the man, [...]

On June 25, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Salvato v. Miley et al. [i], which serves as an excellent explanation of excessive force and failure to intervene in an excessive force incident as well as “ratification” as it pertains to potential liability for police and sheriff department’s that exonerate officers after a use of force that is later deemed excessive.  This article is a two part series.  Part I examines the excessive force and failure to interview issue; Part II examines the ratification theory of liability as it pertained to the Sheriff’s Department.  The relevant facts of Salvato, taken directly [...]

Maintaining the popular support of the majority of the citizens within the jurisdiction is a responsibility of every law enforcement executive and officer in a democratic society. Last month’s research newsletter examined the findings of the 27 most recently published research studies on overall citizen satisfaction with the police. These studies revealed that the strongest factor influencing general citizen satisfaction with, and trust in, the police is having had a recent negative contact with the police themselves, or knowing a friend or relative who recently experienced a negative contact with the police. Those individuals who had experienced a recent negative [...]

On May 22, 2015, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. McMillian [i], which serves as an excellent review of the law pertaining to warrantless entry into private premises.  The relevant facts of McMillian, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On July 6, 2011, Milwaukee Police Officer Brian Shull reviewed a "suspect card," an internal document issued by the Milwaukee Police Department, which detailed probable cause to arrest Tyrone McMillian for his alleged involvement in a 2007 double homicide. After conducting a brief investigation, Officer Shull went to McMillian's home in Brown Deer, Wisconsin to arrest him. [...]