Call your legislator now to oppose police liability bill that creates financial burden for cities

HB 1202 increases city’s liability for injuries caused by the actions of law enforcement officers. AWC strongly opposes HB 1202 and is working with our city and county partners to voice our opposition.

We need you to act now: contact your legislators and ask them to oppose HB 1202. The bill serves only to increase litigation costs for cities without generating true police reform.

Under this bill, cities could be named in a claim and would be liable for actual damages, nominal damages and costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees. We believe this bill will incentivize people to file a claim regardless of the merits of a case because of the high likelihood of receiving a monetary settlement. If the bill is enacted, AWC believes cities could see a rise in cases brought against officers and cities, a resulting increase in settlement payments regardless of the merit of the claims, and the possibility of massive attorney’s fees if a case reaches a verdict. It is simply too costly for cities to defend these kinds of cases; cities often end up settling because taking a case to trial and winning can be extremely costly.

Here are a few points to share with your legislators:

1. HB 1202 will increase the number of claims and lawsuits filed against cities with police departments because claimants will know they are likely to get a settlement.
2. Given the high cost of defending lawsuits, cities will likely settle such claims instead of going to trial, even if a claim is without merit. It can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars just to defend a case. Moreover, a city runs the risk of losing and paying a larger judgment and attorney's fees to a plaintiff.
3. HB 1202 will drive up insurance costs. Cities are already seeing a hardening insurance market due to ever-increasing costs and fewer insurers willing to provide coverage.
4. Cities support meaningful police reform but believe that increasing liability and generating more claims and litigation only costs taxpayers without leading to real change in policing.
5. The only guaranteed result of HB 1202 will be to generate more attorney's fees.
6. Legal remedies for individuals harmed by police are already in place.
7. Cities support many other bills that will result in important changes to police accountability; however, an increase in lawsuits won’t result in meaningful police reform and will only increase costs for taxpayers.

Under the bill, if a person is injured by a law enforcement officer acting under the color of law, the injured person has a cause of action against that officer and any other law enforcement officer who could have prevented or aided in preventing the injury yet failed to act. This could occur if the officer:

• Engaged in conduct that, under civil law, constitutes an assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, or malicious prosecution.
• Acted in a manner that is unlawful under state constitution.
• Engaged in conduct that violated the duty of reasonable care.

In such cases, an injured person may also name the officer’s employer as a defendant. Employers will be found liable if:

• The unlawful conduct causing injury was within the scope of the officer’s employment.
• The officer could prove they “substantially complied” with an employer’s practice, policy, or procedure. The employer would be independently liable for the injury if it was caused by the practice, policy, or procedure condoned or approved by the employer.
• The injury was caused due to the employer’s failure to use reasonable care in hiring, training, retaining, supervising, or disciplining the peace officer.

Additionally, the attorney general could bring action against a city or officer if the attorney general finds there is a pattern or practice of misconduct.

Please contact your legislators today and tell them to oppose HB 1202.