HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States
Philadelphia:

Civil Lawsuits
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In the absence of other means of accountability, civil lawsuits have been relied upon by victims of police abuse, and the city has paid huge amounts in settlements and awards during the past several years. During a twenty-eight-month period ending in November 1995, the city paid $20 million; at least another $7 million was paid in a three-week period in July and August 1996, according to press reports.89 (Human Rights Watch requested these figures directly from the City Solicitor's office in a September 1996 letter and in several phone calls, yet as of November 1997, and despite promises, no figures were forthcoming. A September 19, 1997 letter from the deputy city solicitor states that the information would be "forwarded to you as soon as that information is compiled.") The city is self-insured, so it puts aside a reserve in case of suits against police in each year's budget. They have exceeded the reserve in the past, requiring "local legislation" to supplement the funds.90

During 1996, the city paid approximately $13 million, reportedly enough to pay for 250 officers for a year.91 And in January 1997, the city paid a $1 millionsettlement to the estates of two men killed during the May 1985 police fire-bombing of the homes of black activists who were members of the group MOVE. The civil suits, and threats of even more costly suits, have been the one available tool to force the city to address police accountability problems seriously. The suits have also, through the years, revealed important information about abuses by officers and the shortcomings of IAD. Unfortunately, they have had little effect on individual officers. Former Officer Baird said in his deposition that he had no idea what happened in any of the civil cases alleging abusive treatment by him, except for one that went to trial; he estimated that he had been sued about six times. The case that went to trial resulted in an award to the victim of $50,000.92



89 Mark Fazlollah, "Philadelphia settles or loses $20 million in lawsuits," Philadelphia Inquirer, November 17, 1995. In August, a fifty-four-year-old grandmother falsely imprisoned for three years as a result of one of the 39th District raids received a $1 million settlement. A man falsely imprisoned for three and one-half years - including fourteen months on death row - after police framed him for two murders (and he was prosecuted by former prosecutor Edward Rendell, now mayor of Philadelphia) received $1.8 million from the city. Mark Fazlollah, "A wrongful jailing costs the city a million," Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 1996.

90 Telephone interview, Shelly Smith, City Solicitor's office, January 27, 1997.

91 Mark Fazlollah, "Bill soars on police claims," Philadelphia Inquirer, November 21, 1996.

92 Baird deposition, May 23, 1996.

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© June 1998
Human Rights Watch