Remarks of William Bradford Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division Before the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Incorporated, Legal Officers Section, November 13, 1982, Atlanta, Georgia

• NCJ Number: 87010
• Author(s): W B Reynolds
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This speech presents the Federal law enforcement perspective on prosecution of police officer misconduct and urges a cooperative stance from police agencies in weeding out undesirable personnel who abuse their positions.

Abstract

Federal prosecutions of police misconduct are most frequently based on the Section 242 of the Federal criminal civil rights statute which makes it a crime for a person acting under color of law willfully to deprive anyone of rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. Case processing of violators of this statute involve FBI investigation, a grand jury proceeding, and careful deliberation of the indictment decision. Public opinion, gravity of the offense, and the officer's state of mind at the time of the misconduct are considered in making the prosecution decision. Prosecution is certain where the misconduct has been egregious, willful, and deliberate, and where the victim has been seriously injured. Police officers, however, are almost never prosecuted on the strength of the victim's statement alone; corroborative testimony of a fellow officer is deemed convincing evidence.