But what happens when officers find themselves in the crosshairs of the demonstrators' rage? This is the challenge faced by officers more and more, particularly after the in-custody death of George Floyd on May 26,2020. Faced with the dichotomy between protecting their community members and neighborhoods and protecting themselves and the profession they hold dear, officers have been thrust into highly emotionally charged events where their actions become the topic of every dinner table conversation. Among the myriad reasons why agencies should review their response to crowd control events is the ever-looming specter of liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Liability in this realm is frequently premised upon defects in agency policies, training, and supervision. If one considers that the catalyst of a lawsuit is frequently the event itself, the resolution of that suit, in many instances, depends upon what occurs moments, days, weeks, months, or even years before the action. To that extent, a quote famously attributed to Sun Tzu is particularly appropriate, "Every battle is won before it is ever fought." As a result, to proactively win by mitigating liability, agencies should engage in continual self-audits of their responses to crowd control events considering the recent independent reviews, reports, and guidance available.
展开▼
