“You knew being a convenience store clerk on midnight shift was dangerous. When you got robbed, that’s what you signed up for”, said no Prosecutor ever.
But that theme is repeated over and over in prosecutor offices, courtrooms, and even in the offices of some police administrators and, sadly, even in the minds of many police officers. It was never true. Police officers are citizens and have no fewer rights than others. In fact, because of their repeated exposure to criminal attacks, this class of workers deserves protections under the law. Here’s why, with some data from a survey* of officers’ experiences to illustrate:
- Assaults on officers cost everyone. Damaged uniforms, leave time due to injury, workers’ comp losses, cumulative injuries that shorten careers, and reluctance to engage with offenders expecting no support for risky encounters. If we believe that holding offenders accountable for their actions is a moral position that reduces crime, then an assault on the public represented by the badge should be a prosecution priority to send the message that hurting cops will not be tolerated, with a goal of reducing such assaults and thus making both suspects and police officers safer. Survey: 20% of officers have lost time from work due to injury from assault. 63% have been injured and didn’t even seek medical attention.
- We no longer blame domestic violence on the victim who repeatedly subjects themselves to repeated assault – we’ll prosecute on their behalf even if they don’t want to. We prosecute those who assault prostitutes, although their choice of risky behavior is “what they signed up for”. Shouldn’t that enlightenment be extended to police officers?
- No part of the criminal justice system should issue a get out of jail free card, and yet offenders who hurt cops often get just that. Consider a theoretical domestic violence call. An officer arrives, finds evidence of the assault, and also finds illegal narcotics. The offender resists arrest. A prosecutor may drop the domestic violence charge with an uncooperative victim, but will likely sustain the narcotics case. The resisting officer charge is often dropped as well, often without notice to the officer victim.
- Officers learn not to expect prosecution and stop charging for assault on officers. This often means ignoring injuries resulting in cumulative physical damage. Survey: 10% of officers don’t even charge resisting or assault, knowing the case will be dropped. 50% of felony assault on officer cases are reduced to misdemeanors
- Officers are subjected to other harmful offender behavior, including threats of lawsuits, threats of later assault to the officer or family members, and vandalism to private property.
- Officers are often left to write their own reports on their victimization. No other assault victim is expected to investigate their own victimization, but officers do. Survey: In 21% of cases, the officer has been investigated for unlawful force, making the credibility of self-reporting questionable.
- Most states have statutes or state constitutional provisions mandating victims’ rights. Police officers’ rights under those provisions are often ignored, contrary to the law. That can mean no notice, no victim impact statement, no sentencing input, and no victim compensation. Survey: 45% were not notified of the disposition of the case in which they were a victim.
- The law requires compliance with an officer’s arrest. Most police policies on compliance measures begin with the officer’s presence, before escalating. What is missing in those formulas is the statute that requires compliance with police officers and forbids resisting arrest. The law bans assaults on officers and should be enforced with vigor.
Part of the 10% annual attrition rate of police officers is the discouragement, being unheard, and ignored by the very justice system they serve. Cumulative injury and trauma are also a factor, fueled, in part, by an underlying belief that getting hurt, assaulted, and threatened is part of the job description. The reality that these things are going to happen should not negate the equal reality that officers need the support of the system they serve. We must not continue to fail in supporting the legal rights of our officers who are victims of crime at the hands of criminals.
*The 2010 survey was conducted by the author with over 200 police officer respondents regarding their experiences and observations.