A content analysis of police civil liability cases: Decisions of the Federal District Courts, 1978–1990

American police and subcultural support for the use of excessive force

“…It is not unusual for police civil liability cases to result in a six or seven figure award against a city. In a study of federal court cases between 1978 and 1990, it was found that the average award handed down against a police defendant was over $134,000 (Kappeler, del Carmen, & Kappeler, 1993). Furthermore, a recent National Institute of Municipal Law Enforcement Officers survey of 215 municipalities found almost four and a half billion dollars in pending liability suits (Kappeler, 1997).…”

Newspaper Accounts of Lawsuits Involving the Police: An Alternative Data Source?

“…Previous studies using court documents have focused on the volume of damages awarded in Section 1983 cases' involving the police (Chiabi, 1996), Section 1983 lawsuits alleging failure to train (Ross, ZOOO), and longitudinal examinations of Section 1983 claims against the police (Kappeler, et al, 1993).…”

“…This body of research consists of studies that examine the frequency of lawsuits filed against police agencies (Dugan & Breda, 1991;Human Rights Watch, 1998;Kappeler, 2001;Kappeler, Kappeler & del Carmen, 1993;Meadows & Trostle, 1998;McCoy, 1984), how the threat of litigation impacts police officer behaviors/actions on the streets (Garrison, 1995;Hughes, 2001;Novak et al, 2003;Scogin & Brodsky, 1991;Vaughn et al, 2001), and how organizational characteristics of police agencies impact police-involved litigation (Kappeler, 2001 ;Worrall, 1998Worrall, & 2001Worrall & Gutierrez, 1999). Other recent studies have focused on the difficulty of studying lawsuits involving the police (Archbold & Maguire, 2002), and how police agencies manage litigation by using early intervention systems (Walker, Alpert & Kenney, 2001;Walker, 2005), and risk management practices (Archbold, 2004;Archbold, 2005).…”

Policing by consent decree: an analysis of 42 U.S.C. § 14141 and the new model for police accountability

“…Email: DL-Ross@wiu.edu Since the 1960s, citizens who have complaints about the police have used 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as the primary civil remedy for alleged constitutional violations (Kappeler, Kappeler, & del Carmen, 1996;Ross, 2006;Silver, 2005;Vaughn & Coomes, 1995;Worrall, 2001). The results of numerous lawsuits filed during the last 40 years show that plaintiffs have been only modestly successful in prevailing in a civil rights action (Kappeler et al, 1996), however, one study found that plaintiffs have prevailed in a civil lawsuit against the police in about 48% of the cases (Kappeler et al, 1996).…”