Essay on "Assessing the Civil Liability of Private Security Personnel"

Essay 3 pages (991 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

The basis of this law is not whether the officer is on or off-duty or was wearing the uniform or not during the conduct of the complaint. The basis is the nature of the conduct or act. The court generally bases its determination of certain factors under the color of law. The first is the existence of a department policy, which requires officers to be on duty at all times. The second is the wearing of the badge issued by his department. The third is the officer's self-identification as a police officer. The fourth is his carrying or use of weapon issued by his department. And the fifth is his placing the violator under arrest. The court undoubtedly seeks and examines the details of the case (Scarry).

Moonlighting Case 1: Pickrel v. City of Springfield

A customer of a fast-food restaurant accused the private security officer, a police officer at the City of Springfield (Scarry, 2007). The customer and her father entered the restaurant but the officer told them to leave or face arrest. Turmoil followed. When the customer resisted, the officer brought her up to stand, took her out of the booth and pushed her on the ground. Then he arrested both her and her father for trespassing, for obstruction and for resisting his arrest. The officer wore his City's uniform, badge and also drove and parked the City's squad car outside the restaurant. These details placed the officer's conduct under the color of law. The court dismissed the charges (Scarry).

Abraham v. Raso

In this case, the police officer was moonlighting as a security guard at a mall where and when he shot and killed a shoplifter while in the act of stealing clothes from a department store in the mall (Scarry, 2007). The officer was on patrol when she received the call of the department store's security guard about the shoplifter. The shoplifter tried to escape through the store exit. The officer repeatedly told him to stop. He managed to enter his car and speed off. He tried to run over the pursuing officer who then shot and killed him. The shoplifter's estate sued the officer for violating his constitutional rights. The court, however, ruled that the security officer, who was then functioning as a security guard, acted under the color of law. She wore the police uniform, repeatedly commanded the fleeing shoplifter to stop and also tried to arrest him. Security guards for private firms should be aware of details of the law before deciding to moonlight (Scarry).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Moore, R.H. (1987). Civil liability of private security enforcer of moral obligations to right legal wrongs. Vol 11 Issue 2, American Journal of Criminal Justice: Springer

Link. Retrieved on September 27, 2014 from http://www.link.springer.com/article/10.1007%FBF02885652

Scarry, L.L. (2007). Legal eagle: moonlighting and civil liability. Law Officer

Magazine: Police One.com. Retrieved on September 27, 2014 from http://www.policeone.com/columnist/lom/articles/1203246-legal-eagle-moonlighting-civil-liability READ MORE

How to Reference "Assessing the Civil Liability of Private Security Personnel" Essay in a Bibliography

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