Broward Deputy who didn't go in regrets decision

[Javelin Man]

And it puts other cowardly deputies and police officers on notice. Fortunately, there are very few but perhaps they'll either step up to the plate when necessary or switch to a desk job where they can actually help and leave the spot open for someone to actually protect.

[bignflnut]

It will be interesting to see how many thin blue liners will head to facefart and extol the fact that he had no legal duty to be a #Hero.

There are only a few possible defenses, right?
A) I did as I was trained.
B) I had no legal duty, but I was happy to pound that direct deposit.
C) I wasn't certain where to go, so I hunkered down / took cover. See A.
D) Diplomatic Immunity!

In fact, option B has already been ruled on IN THIS CASE!

A federal judge says Broward schools and the Sheriff’s Office had no legal duty to protect students during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom dismissed a suit filed by 15 students who claimed they were traumatized by the crisis in February. The suit named six defendants, including the Broward school district and the Broward Sheriff’s Office, as well as school deputy Scot Peterson and campus monitor Andrew Medina.

Bloom ruled that the two agencies had no constitutional duty to protect students who were not in custody.

“The claim arises from the actions of [shooter Nikolas] Cruz, a third party, and not a state actor,” she wrote in a ruling Dec. 12. “Thus, the critical question the Court analyzes is whether defendants had a constitutional duty to protect plaintiffs from the actions of Cruz.

“As previously stated, for such a duty to exist on the part of defendants, plaintiffs would have to be considered to be in custody” — for example, as prisoners or patients of a mental hospital, she wrote.

SNIP

The judge also found Peterson was not protected from the lawsuit by “sovereign immunity,” a legal doctrine that shields public employees from legal action based on their official conduct.

Joel Perwin, Pollack’s attorney, said: “We don’t think it's even debatable that Peterson had a duty to these students. Peterson’s disclaimer of any legal responsibility is a mirror of his abdication of his responsibility for these kids,” he said.

[deanimator]

Dereliction of duty...doesn't matter if he is not found guilty....there will be plenty of civil suits. He'll pay for the rest of his life..

Null and void on their face.

Police have virtually no legal duty to protect individuals and virtually no legal liability when they fail to do so, whether by circumstance, negligence or choice.

Plaintiffs will get laughed out of court... like all the rest before them.

See Castle Rock.

[bignflnut]

A sheriff’s sergeant who was fired for sitting in his car and failing to react while a gunman slaughtered students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School should get his job back, as well as any lost wages, an arbitrator ruled.

Brian Miller was fired June 4. The union learned Wednesday that arbitrator concluded that the Broward County Sheriff’s Office violated Miller’s due process rights when Sheriff Gregory Tony terminated him two days past a deadline that a state law allows for punishing law enforcement officers once an investigation is completed.

Lawyers for the union refuted questions posed that Miller can get his job back because of a technicality — a two-day technicality.

“The law is not a technicality,” said union attorney Michael Finesilver. “It’s state law. Our position is the sheriff has to follow state law. He cannot pick and choose law he wants to follow and the arbitrator agreed with us.”

The Broward Sheriff’s Office didn’t agree with the ruling.

“The Broward Sheriff’s Office does not agree with the arbitrator’s decision and stands by the initial termination of Sergeant Brian Miller," according to a statement from its general counsel. "The arbitrator ruled on the case without conducting any evidentiary hearing whatsoever and without taking the testimony of a single witness. The decision was based upon a technicality that we believe was wrongly decided. The arbitrator ruled on a procedural issue that BSO allegedly took too long to conduct the investigation, which is the exact opposite finding of an arbitrator that addressed this same issue in an earlier case. The Broward Sheriff’s Office is exploring all legal options to address this erroneous decision.”

[catfish86]

So cowardice is rewarded by the blue line...

[deanimator]

So cowardice is rewarded by the blue line...

Unless he endangered another officer, in virtually every case.

Protect yourself or don't get protected at all.