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Police Lawsuits And Discretion

Police Lawsuits and Discretion
By
Matilda P. De Leon 
Overview
Police officers are given the authority to make reasonable and responsible decisions out in the field. Discretion is used in many situations, such as when an officer chooses to stop a vehicle for a small traffic violation. There are also times when the officer has no choice but to use specific discretion in certain situations. Society believes that an officer can make any choice he or she chooses at anytime while on the job.Not just in police field ,but in any area of profession individuals are expected to perform their duties according to their administrative policies. Following those policies and procedures can be difficult if employees are lacking in training. For professional people any mistake in their jobs usually brings a lawsuit against the department. Indicated below is when police is abusing discretion when performing their duties.
Police mistakes a 12 year old girl for a prostitute
GALVESTON Houston, TX a lawsuit was filed against three Galveston policemen who assaulted a 12-year-old girl that they thought was a prostitute. Emily Milburn was preparing her children for school when the electricity failed, so Milburn dispatched her daughter outside to flip the breaker back on, the lawsuit says. Police were sent to the area to look for three white prostitutes soliciting a white man and a black man selling drugs, when Sgt. Gilbert Gomez saw a black female and ordered her detained. The officers suspected she was a prostitute, because she wore tight shorts, the lawsuit says, arguing her detention was unfounded, unreasonable and violated her constitutional rights. It also says she wasn’t wearing tight shorts. Wilfred Louis Milburn, 47, heard his daughter’s cries for help, the lawsuit says. When Milburn and his wife went outside, “Dymond was hysterical and holding onto the tree with one arm (and) two officers were striking Dymond in the head, face and throat,” the lawsuit says. The head...