Fire the cop. I get that. Giving an 18 year old a couple of hundred thousand for being scared I do not get. Cash does not fix the problem. What is the money for, "emotional distress?" The only people that get punished by a cash settlement in a case like this are the taxpayers. Sounds like an entitlement mentality to me.
There were a couple of times in the military I thought I was going to die because of someone's incompetence. Should their employer, the government, make me a millionaire?
What is the money for, “emotional distress?” The only people that get punished by a cash settlement in a case like this are the taxpayers.
Sometimes it does. Otherwise, what motivation would the DeKalb police chief have to make sure that this doesn't happen again?
Sure, the chief feels embarrassed about all this now, but that feeling will soon go away. But a money judgment against his force would really keep him focused on the problem.
But I do see your point. Huge awards of taxpayer money doesn't sit too well with me either.
The money memorializes the crime. If these things didn’t cost departments/city/states/feds money then nobody would be getting fired for these things.
It helps to pierce various chromatic lines these agencies draw about themselves to protect themselves.
A punitive lawsuit compels investigation and testimony of others and in general becomes a painful experience for the offenders and their would-be friends.
If every cop that interfered with legal video recording of their public service was fined 33% pay for 1 year and the cities had to pony up a few 100k each time this happened, cops would starting thinking twice about doing things.
” What is the money for, “emotional distress?”
Punishment for the public. The public is responsible for their elected officials and the money is the feedback loop to tell the people their chosen badly and to chose someone else.