Police in California are not immune from certain misconduct lawsuits, high court rules

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California police are not immune from civil lawsuits for misconduct that occurs while investigating crimes, the state Supreme Court ruled this week, overturning a precedent created by lower courts that had helped protect law enforcement from litigation for decades.

On Thursday, judges unanimously rejected a Riverside County argument that sheriff’s deputies could not be sued for leaving a man’s naked body on display for eight hours while deputies investigated his murder.

California law protects police from being sued for any damages that occur during a prosecution process, even if the officer acted “maliciously and without probable cause.” Now the Supreme Court says police can be sued for misconduct during investigations.

The sentence cites previous jurisprudence that defined investigative actions as those prior to the formulation of charges.

“The possibility of overlapping facts between the investigations and the prosecutions does not justify treating them as one,” Judge Leondra Kruger wrote in the ruling.

Kruger noted that the court issued a similar ruling in 1974. But in 1994, a state appeals court adopted a broader interpretation to protect police from lawsuits arising from conduct during investigations. Lower courts have relied on that ruling to dismiss misconduct lawsuits against law enforcement that did not involve prosecutions.

An attorney representing Riverside County in the case did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

This particular case centered on José León, who was shot and killed by a neighbor in 2017 southeast of Los Angeles in Riverside County. Shortly after sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the shooting, they heard several gunshots nearby and dragged Leon’s body behind a police vehicle, causing his pants to fall down and expose his genitals, according to the lawsuit. Her wife, Dora Leon, sued the county for negligence and emotional distress, saying police had left her husband’s naked body on display for hours. The case was thrown out by lower courts, which ruled that state law grants immunity to law enforcement officers and agencies for police conduct during investigations.

The Supreme Court reinstated Dora León’s lawsuit. Kruger wrote that the lower courts’ decision was incorrect and said that police investigations cannot be construed as part of the judicial process.

Many local police departments have routinely argued that they are immune from claims for damages “the moment a police officer arrives at a crime scene,” said Richard Antognini, an attorney representing Leon.

If the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the county, it “essentially would have immunized them for almost anything,” he said.

The recent ruling helps remove an obstacle for victims seeking damages for police misconduct, Antognini said. California law still provides immunity from certain aspects of police investigations.

The ruling was praised by john burrisa California civil rights lawyer who has represented more than 1,000 victims of police misconduct across the country.

“This should have a positive impact on police reform, because now the law has spoken,” Burris said. “The police must be trained and better informed about what their obligations are.”

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Associated Press writer Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to the report.