Legal
The Legal topic page on Police1 is a must-read for any officer, at any agency, who wants to stay up-to-date on the latest news. Every trial, verdict and court decision that has to do with cops will be covered on this page.
From the fireman’s rule to the doctrine of governmental immunity, public safety professionals face long-standing legal doctrines that prevent them from suing for injuries sustained in the line of duty
While it’s easy to rely on established case law, officers and legal professionals must avoid a one-size-fits-all approach
Agents built a case against Ronald Carmona, using phone data and controlled buys to prove fentanyl distribution
Former Warren PD officer Matthew Rodriguez has acknowledged using unreasonable force against the man while processing him after being provoked by a verbal insult
The man was convicted of fatally shooting Officer Ella French, wounding her partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., and shooting at Officer Joshua Blas during a traffic stop in 2021
According to court documents, a witness heard the officer say he thought he brought K-9 Horus in after his shift
Officer Mathew Bianchi claimed claimed he had been reprimanded on numerous occasions for writing tickets to the friends and families of officers
A jury also ordered one of the detectives to pay Marcel Brown $50,000 in punitive damages for an interrogation that the lawsuit claimed drew a false confession
The suit alleges Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Recruit Asson Hacker was required to participate in “The Big Fight,” where an experienced deputy “choked, hit and body-slammed” him
The leak and initial lawsuits occurred in 2022 when undercover officers’ personal information was mistakenly released along with other data in a public records request
Trump accepted the endorsement in a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina where he addressed migrant crime, drug trafficking and “backing the blue”
K-9 Horus died after he was left inside a cruiser all day; investigations found that a cruiser system designed to cool K-9s left inside had been off during the incident
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said the officer shot the man “in fear for his life and his fellow officers,” as the man charged toward him
“Sheriff Nowels determined Mr. Hilton’s conduct was clearly outside of policy and led to charges filed by the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office,” the sheriff’s office stated
Geoffrey Noble has been in law enforcement for 30 years; he began with the NJSP in uniformed patrol in 1995 and moved on to field training and work as a detective
The court ruled an earlier proceeding violated the victim’s family’s rights; the justices said that Syed, who was freed in 2022, can remain free as the case heads to a new judge
The woman’s attorney contended that Boise State University’s actions violated her First Amendment rights by penalizing her for her pro-police stance
The incident began when the officer approached an armed man sleeping in a car; when the man woke up and started to drive away, the officer fired several shots, killing him
The ex-officer pleaded not guilty to charges of killing a woman he is accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage after she told him she was pregnant
Law enforcement agencies with officers who knowingly enforced federal gun laws without equivalent state laws faced a fine of $50,000 per violating officer
The crimes former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel pleaded guilty to included theft, official misconduct, tax evasion, corrupt business influence and obstruction of justice
How should officers respond to an ambiguous request for counsel following the Miranda warning?
In U.S. v. Chatrie, the 4th Circuit upheld geofence warrant data linking Chatrie to a robbery, ruling it didn’t violate the 4th Amendment
Officer John O’Keefe’s family alleges that Read struck O’Keefe while driving drunk, causing his “conscious pain and suffering [and] fear of impending death”
The Olympia PD must create a policy establishing the ban of symbolic enhancements to equipment within the next year, effectively banning thin blue line and other types of imagery
The Florence County deputy followed a fleeing suspect into a home before firing several shots at him; during the incident, his K-9 partner bit an uninvolved resident
The ex-Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputy fired shots when the man emerged from his apartment with a firearm; the man’s family alleges he did not hear the deputy identify himself
The revisions come after more than a year of study and discussions with LE agencies across the country, community support groups and mental health experts
The judge’s ruling declared that the actions of Taylor’s boyfriend, who fired a shot at police the night of the raid, were the legal cause of her death, not a bad warrant
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