by Sergeant Larry N. Herbert, Accreditation Manager, Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department

A recent article in American Police Beat asked the question, "Want to sue the police?" "Suing police departments for damages has become big business. It’s so big, in fact, that there’s now a how-to-sue conference by and for lawyers taught at New York’s Fordham Law School." This statement reminds us that we live in a very litigious society. As professionals, we must provide the highest standards of service possible while minimizing our liability exposure.

The Colorado Springs (CO) City Attorney’s office has developed an approach that is used predominantly for Section 1983 violations of federal civil rights allegations. In such cases, past accreditation on-site team leaders have completed affidavits for various cases attesting that our agency meets internationally accepted and independently verified standards of performance for use as exhibits in motions to dismiss or motions for summary judgment. Mr. Shane White, a senior litigation attorney with the City Attorney’s office, has noted that "this is a standard theory of defense that we argue when the City is a named defendant and it’s alleged that the City has a custom, practice or policy of allowing violations of civil rights." Using this strategy, the City Attorney has been able to successfully make this argument many times on behalf of the Colorado Springs Police Department since we were first accredited in July 1991. This has resulted in several lawsuits being dismissed from the court system and from further legal proceedings.

One such case stemmed from an officer involved shooting following a routine traffic stop. As part of his investigation the officer had asked the driver and a passenger to exit the suspect vehicle. The passenger then began to walk away from the area and was ordered to return. After the passenger continued to walk away, the officer attempted to escort him back to the vehicle for safety reasons when the passenger turned, pulled a gun, and threatened the officer. The officer then shot the passenger and was able to take him into custody and summon medical attention. During the subsequent lawsuit the plaintiffs alleged various constitutional violations including failure to train or properly supervise, along with excessive force. In the city’s defense, affidavits from the CALEA team leader attesting to our compliance with the accreditation standards, our certificate of accreditation and our policies were all submitted in the motion to dismiss. In this case, the plaintiffs voluntarily requested that the case be dismissed prior to ever going to trial. This is just one of several examples of our success in using this particular technique as evidence that the department does in fact properly select, train, and supervise our employees.

The benefits of law enforcement accreditation™ are innumerable, but generally deal with every facet of operating and managing our department. Reduced liability exposure and lessening of financial awards against accredited law enforcement agencies demonstrate one of the more important, but less recognized areas, that make accreditation a worthwhile endeavor. The Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) concluded in its 1998 Police Accreditation Risk Study that accredited agencies experienced a 16% reduction in frequency and a 35% reduction in severity of financial awards against them when compared to non-accredited police departments during the five year period of time from 1993-1997. IRMA concludes, "this study provides quantitative evidence that police accreditation does in fact significantly impact a law enforcement agency’s ability to prevent and reduce loss in the area of police professional liability."

Having been the department’s accreditation manager for over 10 years, I concur with CALEA’s position that we continually minimize our liability exposure by operating correctly. We have demonstrated that our policies and practices do not condone any form of misconduct or malfeasance. Because CALEA’s standards prescribe what we should be addressing and not how, I believe that it is also compatible with our community oriented policing philosophy, ethical leadership initiatives, agency values, and the empowerment of our employees. By meeting the needs of our citizens in the most effective and efficient way possible through the CALEA process, we experience tremendous community support and continue to comply with legal requirements governing law enforcement agencies. Accreditation is an administrative tool that optimizes our performance, minimizes errors and omissions, and provides the framework to strive for excellence in policing. Therefore, by establishing clearly defined guidelines, our policies and procedures bolster our accountability and enhance our legal defensibility in the civil litigation arena.

2 Police Accreditation Study (Risk Report dated May 11, 1998) by The Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA), One Oak Brook Terrace, Suite 412, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181, (630) 932-4762.