Northwestern D-05 Study Guide

Civil Liability is the _______________ or _________________ exposure to litigation based upon an allegation of being responsible for a possible or actual loss to a third party.

True or False- Civil Liability is said to require both Administrative and Operational type activities to be evaluated from a management perspective.
True False

True or False- An aggressive police liability management program requires that there be input and cooperation by all employees.
True False

From a liability management perspective, as far as low risk operational activities, ___________ must be provided and sufficient to ensure the competency of the officer in performing the task.

True or False – Actual exposure is the suit or notice of claim that has been filed
True False

True or False – Potential exposure is a suit that is filed based upon the nature of the incident or the level of harm that resulted from the incident.
True False

_____________ is the chance of injury, damage or loss.

_____________ must weigh the relative risk.

_____________ is the handling, controlling and minimizing or shifting the chance of loss.

True or False- Risk is a not a management issue.
True False

In a civil case, the burden of proof is the ____________ __ ________, instead of beyond a reasonable doubt.

True or False- Supervisors are personally liable for reckless and willful and wanton acts- individual action possible.
True False

All of the following are strong defenses in a civil liability case by a defendant except:
A. Reviewing current administrative and operational policies and procedures.
B. Obtain on-going input from all levels of staff, sworn and non-sworn.
C. Consulting with your legal counsel and/or risk manager.
D. Establishing an on-going program to review and update policies and procedures.
E. Minimizing the discipline given to employees in order to not show agency deficiencies.

True or False – Management of issues for administrative and operations of a department are essential for reducing the risk of civil liability.
True False

Name the four key components of risk management.

A strong Risk Management policy requires top to bottom input and cooperation, for both ________ and _________ employees.

True or False – One of the benefits of litigation is to improve professional standards and improve operations and the implementation of best practices.
True False

Determining a probability of injury and damage or loss within a particular activity is called a_______ ____________ ___________.

True or False- State court claims have been improved by allowing citizens of the state to file suit against the state government.
True False

_________________ includes pre-trial collection of evidence or facts likely to lead to admissible evidence, which can include - depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for documents or things, inspection of places or things and examinations.

_____________ __________________ is a method of defense in a civil suit that is defined as a situation where the plaintiff, through his/her own negligence, contributed to the harm he/she suffered.

Immunity grants freedom from civil immunity. What are the two types of immunity?

True or False- Absolute Immunity is defined as the King or State is never wrong.
True False

Of the two types of damages, compensatory and punitive, which one is assessed to punish misconduct and deter others from such behavior?

_______________ ______________________ is a legal defense provided and paid for by the employer so long as the employee is acting within the course and scope of employment.

_______________ __________ is a legal defense where the employer pays any damages or settlement for litigation arising from within the course and scope of employment. Compensatory damages or settlement are PAID. Punitive damages may NOT be paid, although some jurisdictions may pay those as well.

Name three ways of briefing a case-Rule of Law

In proving a case of negligence against a police officer, which of the following is not considered:
A. That the proximate cause, either directly or through a series of reasonably foreseeable events.
B. The mental state of the plaintiff at the time the negligent act occurred.
C. Existence of a legal duty of due care
D. Breach of duty of care

What are the two types of potential duties?

True or False- There can there be liability if a Special Duty is established.
True False

A Special Duty can be created by ______ ______, ___ ___, or by _____ _____.

True or False - If an agency is using a Confidential Informant who is wearing a wire, and the wire fails resulting in injury or death to the informant, the agency and officers involved could be sued under the special duty doctrine.
True False

True or False – The Public Duty Doctrine requires police to provide protection services to the public such that they can be held negligent or civily liable for failure to do so.
True False

A “______”must be established and is necessary in order to prove a negligence case.

In terms of “Breach of Duty” – the measure of whether a duty has been breached is known as the ______________ ______ standard.

_________ __ ____ can be something that was done or something that wasn’t done and should have been.

Name the three critical areas that are looked at in regard to “Proof of the standard of care”.

True or False - Under the Good Samaritan Rule, generally there is no duty to come to the aid of others.
True False

True or False-The Good Samaritan Rule generally provides protections to private citizens that provided help to someone in need whose life had been in danger.
True False

_____ __________ laws do not protect against reckless, intentional or wanton actions by an individual

Two types of causation are ________________________ and _________________.

_____________ cause can be an immediate direct cause or take place through a series of reasonably foreseeable events in a chain of causation.

What are some damages that can be recoverable (Compensable Damages)?

True or False- If you shot at a moving train and hit someone inside the train, you would be civilly liable of an intentional battery.
True False

What are the requirements for an intentional tort?

True or False- A police supervisor can be liable for the intentional actions of one of their subordinates even if they didn’t participate in the activities or if it occurred outside the scope of their duties as a supervisor.
True False

Name three examples of Intentional torts

Which amendment prohibits private citizens from suing the State, State Agencies or State Officials in their official capacity in Federal Court for money damages?

Name three possible defense strategies.

Of the possible defenses, _______ _____ is not a very good defense

Plaintiff strategies in filing action include:

True or False- Federal agents are not held accountable for violations of civil rights.
True False

Indemnification provides a public employee financial protection against ______________ damages, but does not protect against __________ damages. If you are reckless, willful or intentionally try to cause harm to another, you will not be protected.

True of False – “Under the color of law” is defined as the result of some official or apparently official authority and not as a private citizen.
True False

The Civil Rights Act of 1871 was originally adopted to protect freed slaves but was rarely used until the 1960’s when it became a major tool to sue government officials and was codified under 42 USC _________.

True or False- The Supreme Court has ruled that “every person” includes county and municipal officials as well as municipalities and counties. It excludes states and state officials
True False

True or False – If an officer’s actions are attributable to an unconstitutional policy or custom approved by a policy maker, there can be liability for the agency or the supervisor.
True False

Supervisor liability is based on personal actions or failures to act rising to the level of intentional misconduct or ___________ _______________ to the risk of a constitutional violation by the employee or subordinate.

Failure to train can be an example of ____________ ___________.

True or False – “Person” is defined under 42 USC 1983 as an individual or a county or city.
True False

True or False – An aggressive policy management program requires all members of an agencies command staff to be involved.
True False

True or False – A strong disciplinary policy protects an agency and its personnel from civil and criminal liability.
True False

True or False – If a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician stops at an accident to provide care to a victim and the care provided does not meet a minimal standard and causes further injury, the EMT does not need to worry about civil liability because of the Good Samaritan law.
True False

What types of damages are not recoverable?

__________ ___ _____________ is also known as the proof level or standard of proof in a civil case.

What are the elements of a negligent action against a police officer? (What must a plaintiff / injured party allege?)

True or False – A supervisor that fails to stop a behavior of a subordinate can result in civil action under vicarious liability.
True False

Under what circumstance can municipalities and local governments be held legally liable under a section 1983 action for the conduct of a police officer in their employ?