On February 6, 2014, the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided Armstrong v. State [i], which serves as an excellent review of the legal requirements of a lawful inventory search of a vehicle.  The facts of Armstrong, taken directly from the case, are as follows: A Gwinnett County police officer stopped the car driven by Armstrong because a computer check by the officer on the car's license plate showed that the car's registration had been cancelled. The officer made the stop when Armstrong turned the car into a gas station and parked in front of a gas pump. During the stop, Armstrong initially gave [...]

Public safety agencies throughout the country are demonstrating interest in requiring sworn personnel to undergo physical fitness tests throughout their career to ensure that they are maintaining a level of fitness that allows them to safely perform their duties in the field. Recently LLRMI/PATC polled members of the public safety community on issues of mandatory physical fitness testing throughout officers’ careers within their agencies.  Within two weeks approximately 2,000 responses were received.  The responses represented a significant diversity in agency size—11% of respondent agencies had 0-15 sworn, 27% of respondent agencies had 16-50 sworn, 17% of respondent agencies had 51-100 [...]

Within public safety agencies across the country, a small percentage of employees generate the overwhelming majority of stress in the workplace. These are an agency’s toxic employees. Toxic employees are those who can be so manipulative and problematic that other employees dread coming to work. They are perpetual plaintiffs who file a multitude of baseless grievances, complaints and lawsuits throughout their careers. Having little or no concern for the mission of the agency, they often refuse to accept responsibility for mistakes in their work performance. They work to intimidate supervisors while deflating the morale of their fellow employees due to management’s [...]

The term “gypsy cop” is often used to describe the problem officer who wanders from agency to agency over a period of years or even decades—leaving behind them substantial damage to the morale, reputation and finances of the departments on which they have served.  It is certainly true that good officers may look to join a new agency during the course of their career for reasons related to family life, career advancement or better compensation.  Many departments have recruited and retained lateral hires as officers who have proved to be great assets in their new roles.  Lateral programs can and [...]

On November 13, 2013, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Ayala v. Wolfe [i] which serves as an excellent review of constitutional law regarding the police use of deadly force.  The facts of Ayala, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In July 2010, at 1:45 a.m., Wolfe, an officer with the Lexington, North Carolina Police Department, responded to a report that three armed men had robbed a restaurant. The report indicated that the men fled on foot. Wolfe canvassed the area near the restaurant and saw Ayala walking just a few blocks away. Wolfe stopped his patrol car and instructed [...]

On October 4, 2013, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the United States v. Willis [i] which serves as excellent review of the law related to investigative detentions based upon information received in a police dispatch.  In Willis, a complainant called 911 and stated that there was a man with a gun outside her house in a disturbance.  She stated that the man was a black male and was wearing a gray shirt.  The complainant also provided the 911 operator with her name and address. Officers were immediately dispatched to a “disturbance with a gun” call.  Two Tulsa police officers, who were [...]