Laws removing officers’ immunity remain limited to a few states
Reprints
Considerable attention was paid to a 2020 Colorado law that removes police officers’ qualified immunity, but it has gained little traction elsewhere.
Among its provisions, the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act removes qualified immunity in cases in which police officers are charged with wrongdoing and makes them pay 5%, or up to $25,000, of judgments against them.
While Connecticut, New Mexico and New York City — in addition to Colorado — have approved measures to modify police officers’ qualified immunity, the concept has not been adopted so far elsewhere, including on the federal level, experts say.
The Connecticut and New Mexico laws permit people to sue police officers for violating their rights under their respective state constitutions. New York City’s law allows citizens to sue police officers for excessive force or unlawful searches and seizures.
“I think people are looking to Colorado to see how it plays out and whether it should be part of the criminal justice reform agenda,” said Deborah A. Ramirez, a law professor at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, who says police officers should purchase their own personal liability coverage.
Sandra McFarland, New York-based senior vice president in Marsh LLC’s U.S. public entity casualty placement practice, said, “The truth of the matter is, claims are always paid by public entities.”
Requiring police officers to pay part of the liability awards against them “could really discourage them from taking the position,” she said.
Read Next
-
Police liability market still tough for buyers
Two years after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer and the nationwide turmoil the killing sparked, the law enforcement liability insurance market, which was already hardening, remains challenged, and many experts say it is unlikely to dramatically change any time soon.
