Law enforcement personnel are held to personal standards higher than other members of our communities. Conduct unbecoming has been a common and historical charge used in controlling and censuring police officers and other public employees, for both on and off duty actions. The “Police Officer’s Code of Ethics,” written back in the 1950s, has a provision that is routinely referenced in training as well as court decisions that promises, under oath: “I will keep my personal life unsullied as an example to all.” Court decisions regarding public employee misconduct involving conduct unbecoming commonly requires that the act of misconduct have [...]

In Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000), the United States Supreme Court examined the use of anonymous tips by police officers. In J.L., the police received an anonymous call that a black male, wearing a plaid shirt, and standing at a bus stop had a handgun in his pocket. An officer responded to the scene, and without any further corroboration, the officer reached into J.L.’s pocket and seized the gun. The Court held that an anonymous tip of this nature, that merely describes a subject in a particular location, does not satisfy the reasonable suspicion necessary to justify a [...]

On Monday February 26, 2007 the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Scott v. Harris, a case stemming from a high-speed pursuit in Coweta County Georgia. Harris, the motorist was speeding through Coweta County which drew the attention of law enforcement. Officers attempted to stop Harris, at which point he fled at high-speed. Deputy Scott of the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit. Deputy Scott’s involvement in the pursuit was captured on his mobile video recorder. The pursuit ended when Deputy Scott intentionally bumped Harris’s vehicle, while traveling at approximately ninety-miles per hour, causing the Harris vehicle [...]

When a police employee acts outside the scope of their employment for purely personal purposes the employer and its insurer will not be liable. A case from the Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2nd Division, decided on April 21st provides an example of the ultimate bad case. Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency v. Godfrey, 2005 Ga. App. LEXIS 413 (GA. Ct. App. 2nd Dist. 2005), involved a police trainee named Carswell of the City of McIntyre Police Department. While attending the police academy, Carswell was authorized to drive a police vehicle to his training. On December 3, 2001, Carswell went [...]

In Maryland v. Pringle, 124 S. Ct. 795 (2003) decided in December of this term, the Supreme Court held that cocaine discovered in the passenger compartment of a vehicle provided probable cause to arrest all three occupants in the vehicle based on a possession of narcotics charge. Pringle was the front seat passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for speeding at 3:16 a.m. on August 7, 1999. When the operator of the vehicle reached into the glove box to get his registration, the officer observed a wadded up roll of money. Following a computer check, the officer returned to [...]

What is the law enforcement duty to protect citizens from harm caused by third parties? This type of claim arises in a variety of circumstances. For example, police fail to protect a spouse from their violent partner; a hostage is killed by the hostage taker while the police are trying to negotiate a peaceful end to a hostage situation; an informant is killed while trying to make a drug buy; or a witness is killed in an effort to prevent their testimony. These are just some examples of how these cases arise. The only clear cut case of a duty [...]