NCJ Number
140253
Journal
Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 465-501
Date Published
1992
Length
27 pages
Annotation
The expectations raised in the 1961 U.S. Supreme Court Monroe v. Pape decision, which maintained that allegations of police brutality stated a cause of civil action for the violation of the plaintiffs' fourth amendment rights and held out the promise of an effective Federal remedy for police abuse, have not been fully recognized. The beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police in 1991, and the acquittal of the officers involved, illustrated the problem of police abuse and the continuing existence of the practices and policies that cause it.
Abstract
A scenario depicting police abuse in Metropolis, U.S.A, 1992, is used to discuss the nature of police abuse and to analyze the contemporary legal and political disputes over this issue. The scenario focuses on police actions taken against a suspected black drug dealer; when police execute a search warrant, finding a small amount of marijuana but no cocaine in the suspect's house, they threaten the suspect and assault him. The suspect agrees to waive his right to sue the police in exchange for the dismissal of all criminal charges. The author uses the scenario to discuss each aspect of the police officers' conduct including execution of the search warrant, pretextual arrests, excessive force, racially motivated conduct, and institutional obstacles, and summarizes available judicial and administrative remedies for police misconduct. The author contends that police violence can be contained only through structural change, and recommends internal administrative reform and possible Federal intervention to enforce the constitutional rights of citizens against local police forces. 147 notes