Criminal vs. Civil Liability

Bachelor’s Capstone in Criminal Justice – CJ499-01

Assault, deceit, robbery, possession of an illicit drug, obstruction of justice… This was probably just a typical night shift for Officer Jones, a seasoned police officer. In all of his years on the job, Officer Jones had rarely had an “easy” or “quiet” shift. Someone in his jurisdiction was always in need of police assistance or intervention whether it was because they were driving while intoxicated, breaking and entering, or fighting with their spouse in the middle of the street at 2:00 in the morning; he has rarely felt “bored” while on shift and usually loves his job. Last night’s shift was different; he didn’t want to go to work because he’d been fighting with his wife, his partner was driving him crazy, and he was just generally off his game. Little did he know when he headed home this morning, the sequence of events from last night’s shooting would shape his future and affect his career.

The woman that approached Officer Jones was a victim of domestic violence, and I can empathize with her, but that does not give her an excuse to file a false report or obstruct justice. The result of a false report is the obstruction or hindrance of a police investigation. It’s completely understandable that she was afraid to report what her husband had done to her, especially because she may have feared repercussion for doing so, but her lie wasted a multitude of police resources and got someone shot. Depending on the severity of the offense alleged in the false report, the state that the alleged offense occurred in, and the jurisdiction of the alleged offense, this woman could face a misdemeanor or felony charge. Should the woman be charged with a misdemeanor, she will likely receive a sentence of up to a year in jail and be required to pay a fine(s.) Should she be charged with a felony, she will likely be sentenced to more than a year in prison and required to pay a significant amount of money in fines. (thelawdictionary.org, 2014) If someone gives a false report to a federal agent and they are apprehended at the federal level, they will likely be spending the next seven to twenty years in federal prison. In some federal courts, a false report of terrorism is considered a violent crime even if no violence occurred. The filer of the false report will be charged accordingly.

The case against the woman isn’t very strong because her intent and motive cannot be proven, but one could argue that she intentionally obstructed justice when she lied about her assailant. Her actions not only influenced the police’s investigation and impeded their progress, they got a man wrongfully shot all because he partially fit the description of the fictional suspect that she gave to Officer Jones. For this woman to be convicted of obstructing justice, the state would have to prove that it was her specific intent to obstruct the proceeding, (the police’s investigation of her alleged assault and robbery,) that she knew that a proceeding was pending at the time; (the investigation of her assault/robbery, the pursuit of a suspect matching the description she gave,) and a connection between obstructing justice and the proceeding, and the person must have knowledge of this connection. It could be argued that said connection was that she did not want her husband to get arrested, so she lied about who committed the assault. (law.cornell.edu, 2018) Like filing a false report, the penalties for obstructing justice vary depending on the severity of the offenses, what actions the person took to obstruct justice, and where the alleged offense(s) occurred. State laws vary so obstructing justice is considered a misdemeanor offense (punishable by less than a year spent in jail and paying a fine) in some states and a felony (punishable by up to three years spent in prison) in others. (Greene, 2012)

In addition to the criminal charges this woman will face, she could also be sued in civil court if she files a false report which defames another’s character and slanders their name. For instance, if the woman had said her boss’ name, Andrew Lockhart, when Officer Jones asked her who had assaulted her and stolen her wallet, there would be grounds for a civil lawsuit. As soon as she told Officer Jones that Mr. Lockhart had assaulted her, she was guilty of slander, and as soon as she wrote it down in a sworn statement, she was guilty of libel. (Axtell, 2016) Mr. Lockhart has never laid a hand on her, he has never acted inappropriately towards her, and he is an upstanding, highly regarded citizen, but her coworkers don’t know what goes on after business hours. Clients don’t know that he is a God-fearing family man who would never hurt a soul. Because of this woman’s false accusation and the public’s perception, Mr. Lockhart’s firm begins to rapidly lose clients, he begins to see his name in the tabloids, and his family even begins to question his conduct. He would be well within his rights to sue this woman in civil court for monetary damages (fewer billable hours) as well as emotional injury (public humiliation.)

The woman that approached Officer Jones was inarguably assaulted and battered by someone, (even though it was not the suspect that she led the police to believe that they should be pursuing) and that is a crime. The question is how did her assailant, her husband, cause the severe lacerations to her head and lip during the domestic incident that had just occurred moments prior. Was it with a punch or slap, which would make it a simple assault, or was it with a weapon or object that he was using as a weapon, which would make it an aggravated assault? (Baldwin, 2017) Without witnessing the assault myself, it is difficult to determine what happened to this woman. Judging by the fact that “the victim’s shirt was blood soaked from a severe laceration to her head and lip,” I can infer that the cuts were deep, long, and probably pretty painful. Cuts of that size will require sutures, which leads me to believe that the husband did not slap or hit her. A hand slapping her or a fist punching her would not likely cut her head and lip, they would leave a bruise or knock out teeth. It appears that this woman’s husband had something in his hands that he hit her with and that this is an example of aggravated assault. The severity of her injury and what was used as a weapon during the encounter will determine if her husband is charged with a class C, B, or A misdemeanor, or a third, second, or first-degree felony. At the very least, he will likely be facing a $500 fine and at the very most, he will be facing a sentence of up to five years in prison and a significant fine.

Although the person that Officer Jones shot was not the suspect he was looking for, he was guilty of possessing cocaine, which is a schedule II narcotic. Schedule II drugs have approved medical uses, but still pose a high potential for abuse and dependence. (iwu.edu, 2003) The amount of punishment he receives will be determined by the number of prior drug offenses he has had, the amount of cocaine he had on his person at the time, if he intended to sell what he had on his person, and a review of his good or bad conduct while on probation or parole by the judge. (Patterson, 2019) The baggie the individual had in his right front pocket which had several smaller baggies in it that were filled with cocaine leads me to believe that this person had intended to sell his product. If he was selling drugs, the penalties are much more severe than simple possession charges. The penalties for being charged with a Class F felony (such as selling/distributing illicit drugs) could include being forced to pay fines as high as $100,000 and serve a prison sentence as long as 40 years in some states. The penalties increase even more if a dealer is caught selling product to a minor (someone that is 17 years old or younger.)

If the woman had been telling the truth and her wallet had indeed been stolen, the suspect would likely have been charged with larceny (which is sometimes called petty theft.) “Theft is the taking of someone else’s property without consent and with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of that property. Petty theft is charged when the value of the item taken is less than a specified amount, such as $500.” (Goguen, 2017) The neighborhood that Officer Jones was patrolling in was considered “high crime,” so it can reasonably be assumed that residents are fairly poor. Poor people cannot afford expensive wallets and it is highly unlikely that she would be carrying much cash, which would make the items taken worth less than $500. It would be a different situation entirely if the thief chose to fraudulently use her debit or credit cards or apply for loans, but for the purposes of this assignment, we will not consider those possibilities. Punishment for theft can come in the form of jail/prison time, paying fines, restitution, community service, probation, or a diversion program (usually for first offenders only.)

Officer Jones “jumped the gun” both literally and figuratively while pursuing the suspect the woman had described. Arguably his first mistake was leaving a woman with severe lacerations and profuse bleeding alone to pursue a male or female of just about any race that is about 5’8” and has a gun. This came from the vague description of the suspect that the woman gave where she could not confirm the suspect’s gender nor their race because they had a mask on. She could have lost consciousness and sustained an even more severe head injury, she could have been assaulted again by someone on the street, or someone might not have seen her and hit her with their vehicle all because he did not wait until medical personnel arrived to begin his pursuit. Officer Jones’ next mistake, the one that I would assume got him sued in civil court, was the wrongful shooting of the individual that possessed cocaine. For starters, this individual only partially matched the vague description of the suspect and was not wearing either of the clothing items she described. He should probably have waited for backup to arrive because he did not know what dangers he might face during this altercation; he did not do so. Even after giving two verbal commands for the individual to stop and identifying himself as a police officer, the individual did not stop walking away and proceeded to reach for something in his right, front pocket. At that time, he should have reached for his taser or his handcuffs to restrain the individual; he should not have reached for his weapon. His weapon should have been his last resort after attempting to talk to, tase, or tackle the individual. (Alpert & Dunham, 2004.) The encounter should have ended in an interrogation room at his police station, not an emergency room.

Everyone makes mistakes, even police officers. It’s natural and a fact of life. What is important is how we recover from our mistakes and choose to learn from them. Will we admit wrongdoing and do what is required of us to make it right in the eyes of the law, or will we cower in the corner and hope that the lawsuit brought against us is thrown out of court for being frivolous or unfounded? To protect ourselves from liability, it is wise to be cautious, not take unnecessary risks, wait for backup, and closely follow the manuals provided to us by our employers.