July 26, 2000 LAWYERS WEEKLY USA ALERT - POLICE BRUTALITY Where a police officer used excessive force in an arrest, the county can be sued for "failure to train" under 42 U.S.C. Sect. 1983, says the Fifth Circuit. The court distinguished a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the same case, which made it almost impossible to sue where a plaintiff alleges that a single employee was negligently hired. (Board of the County Commisioners of Bryan County v. Brown, 520 U.S.387.) The officer in this case pulled the unarmed plaintiff out of a car and threw her to the pavement, injuring her knee so badly that she required four operations. At the time the officer (who was related to the sheriff) was hired, he was 21 years old and had a lengthy criminal history. He did not receive any training before this incident. The court said that the plaintiff could sue under Sect. 1983 for a single decision not to train an individual officer. "[A] single incident of an alleged constitutional violation resulting from [a] policy may serve as a basis for liability so long as that violation was an obvious consequence of the policy...[A] pattern of misconduct is not required." The case is Brown v. Bryan County. It is available at: http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/98/98-40877-CV0.HTM -30- Please visit our website at <http://www.lawyersweekly.com>. Feel free to forward this e-mail alert to any colleagues who would be interested in this breaking news. Thanks to you, they'll have the opportunity to sample Lawyers Weekly USA for free by clicking on the following: http://www.lawyersweekly.com/3freeusa.htm To comment on this service, please e-mail us at <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRC-ANNOUNCE: Black Radical Congress - General Announcements/Alerts -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=unsubscribe%20brc-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=subscribe%20brc-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=subscribe%20brc-announce-digest> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=brc-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/brc-announce> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://archive.tao.ca> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <www.blackradicalcongress.org> | BRC | <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- </XMP> >> _________ EcoNews Service - Alternative News: Ecology, Consciousness & Universe Politics mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] USA http://www.ecologynews.com CZECH http://mujweb.cz/www/ecologynews/ UK http://members.tripod.co.uk/ecologynews/ Canada http://www.ecologynews.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
