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Duty of Officer’s to Intervene when Observing an Excessive Use of Force
Samuels v. Cunningham et al., 2003 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 14479 (Dist. Del. 2003)
Jones v. City of Hartford, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
17340 (Dist. CT. 2003)
By Jack Ryan
How should an officer react when he or she observes
a colleague commit an act of excessive force in his
or her presence? It is a basic principle of supervisory
responsibility that supervisors must intervene into
subordinate officers conduct, but what about officers
of equal rank? Two recent cases make clear that
officers who have an opportunity to intervene in an
excessive use of force must do so, or risk personal
liability for a civil rights violation based upon their
failure to intervene.
Samuels v. Cunniingham et al., 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
14479 (Dist. Del. 2003), involved an apprehension by
four detectives of the Wilmington DE. Police
Department. The four detectives had approached
Samuels who was leaning into the window of an
automobile; as they did so, both the auto and
Samuels fled. Samuels was apprehended by the four
detectives and handcuffed. After he was handcuffed,
a fifth detective, Detective Hall ran up and allegedly
punched Samuels in the ribs. Samuels was
transported to the hospital and treated for a
fractured rib.
Samuels filed suit against the detective who punched
him as well as the other detectives who were
present when he was punched. His allegation against
the four detectives who were merely present was
based upon their failure to intervene in the conduct
of their colleague. The detectives and the City of
Wilmington sought a dismissal of the suit.
In reviewing the case the court noted the sequence
of events and concluded that the four detectives
had no reasonable opportunity to intervene in the
punch since it was a single punch and there simply
was no way for the four detectives who had
apprehended Samuels to anticipate that Detective
Hall would punch the handcuffed suspect. The court
also dismissed claims against the City of Wilmington.
The claims against Detective Hall, who allegedly
threw the punch were allowed to proceed to trial.
The second case, decided September 30th 2003,
found that the law with respect to officers who have
an opportunity to intercede in excessive force is
clearly established and may create liability for
officers who fail to do so, Jones v. City of Hartford,
2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17340 (Dist. CT. 2003).
Jones was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped
following a phony car-jacking call to the police.
Officer Nichols and Rodriguez of the Hartford CT.
Police Department approached the driver, Easterling,
while Officer Murtha approached Jones.
After Jones was taken from the car, he protested
that he had done nothing wrong. Officer Murtha then
allegedly threw Jones to the ground and kicked him
several times, including kicks to the face that caused
a bloody lip. Murtha then picked Jones up from the
ground, kneed him in the groin several times and then
ripped his pants off him. It should be noted that the
officers acknowledged Jones’ bloody lip and ripped-
off pants.
The court found that Officer Nichols and Rodriguez
had no opportunity to intervene in the kicks, but had
opportunity to intervene in the other acts allegedly
committed by Murtha.
In refusing to dismiss claims against Rodriguez and
Nichols the court asserted: “ Police officers have an
affirmative duty to intercede on behalf of a citizen
whose constitutional rights are being violated in their
presence by other officers.” Officers who fail to
intervene may be liable for the harm caused by their
colleagues.
Note: Many agencies have developed policies
requiring officers to report observed excessive force
by others and require immediate investigations of all
uses of force.
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Roll Call Training: Duty to Intervene
Hypothetical Situation: (Sergeant should use
names of officers at the roll-call to emphasize the
reality of such hypothetical situations):
Officer Boehm, let’s suppose we have a high-speed
pursuit this evening. The pursuit travels some
distance and the suspect makes several aggressive
actions toward police cruisers. Let’s further suppose
that the suspect finally bails out of his vehicle
proceeds to flee on foot. Officer Malloy (the primary
officer in the chase) catches the suspect and begins
to assault the suspect who at this point has given up
and is submissive.
Questions:
What are your obligations to our department?
What are your obligations to the suspect?
What are your obligations to your brother and sister
officers?
Do you expose yourself to personal liability if you fail
to intervene in this excessive use of force?
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