What can be done? Can’t Congress pass legislation that would stop the violence by police officers against people who use violence without cause?

The recent case in Memphis, Tennessee, shows that there is something that can be done. The five officers who stopped Tyre Nichols and beat him to death were immediately fired and charged with second degree murder. But this too often doesn’t happen.

The president is promoting a bill in Congress to codify into federal law many practices that define excessive force and prohibit their use. This would help set standards for law enforcement, including district attorneys and judges, but it leaves too much to the discretion of people who are predisposed to disbelieve victims of violence.

Survivors of violence should be able to sue the individuals personally.

The Supreme Court first introduced the doctrine of “qualified immunity.” Under this standard, if government officials acted in performance of their job “in good faith and with probable cause,” then they are immune from lawsuits. This is to protect them from nuisance lawsuits. However, this leaves to individual judges the determination of what constitutes “good faith and probable cause,” and interpretations can vary widely over jurisdictions. They are more likely to interpret it as absolute immunity.

Congress should pass legislation to require that police could be personally sued in every case of death or bodily injury, and leave to a jury of their peers, using the “reasonable man” standard, to make the determination of whether the actions were excessive and not in good faith. It should be Congress, not the courts, to define the standards for use of force, and Congress should not deny the right of survivors of violence their day in court.

The prospect of being sued (and personally bankrupted) could act as a deterrent to illegal use of force. Leaving it to the interpretation of district attorneys in multiple jurisdictions to decide whether to prosecute is not working.

Furthermore, the taxpayers of cities and town should not bear the burden of such lawsuits unless their standards and practices contributed to the violence, and taxpayers should not be obliged to pay pensions to officers who abuse the authority they are given and act outside the law.

Judith Truesdell

Shelburne

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