Book Review: Signorelli, W. P. (2006). The Crisis of Police Liability Lawsuits: Prevention and Management. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. xii, 162 pp

• Date: 01 December 2009
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016808325720
• Published date: 01 December 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

574 Criminal Justice Review

Reference

Weisburd, D., Waring, E., & Chayet, E. F. (2001). White-collar crime and criminal careers. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Joan Brockman

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Signorelli, W. P. (2006). The Crisis of Police Liability Lawsuits: Prevention and Management.

Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. xii, 162 pp.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016808325720

In this book, Signorelli provides a practical guide for police officers and law enforce-

ment agencies on how to effectively manage police liability lawsuits. Signorelli, a former

commanding officer with the New York City Police Department, understood the full mag-

nitude of the issue of police vulnerability in lawsuits only after his retirement. Following

his 31-year career in law enforcement, the author started practicing law and served as a

police practices consultant and expert witness. During this period, he noted the dramatic

increase in lawsuits against the police and exorbitant jury awards given to plaintiffs.

Although he concedes that some of the legal actions against the police are justified, he

believes the majority of these lawsuits are frivolous. As a result of the rise in successful

lawsuits against the police, police morale and public confidence are being affected.

Signorelli writes the book on the premise that police officers are losing a large number of

cases because of inadequate awareness and preparation and by providing plaintiff attorneys

with answers that are later used against them in court proceedings.

The book is divided into 12 chapters. The first chapter depicts the constant battle that

goes on between law enforcement personnel and plaintiff attorneys that allege police abuse

and negligence. The author provides several actual examples that give insights into unwar-

ranted lawsuits against the police and exorbitant jury awards to plaintiffs. He also deline-

ates the differences between criminal and civil actions against the police with regard to

standards of proof, self-incrimination, summons and complaint, pretrial discovery, federal

courts, penalties and damages, liability for conduct of others, and depositions. Signorelli

emphasizes that it is very important for officers to at least have a working knowledge of

these concepts so that they can adequately take part in legal proceedings. An understanding

of the history of police liability law is also necessary, according to the author.

Chapter 3 provides a brief history of the development of the legal issues related to police

liability. The case law on 42 USC Section 1983 is discussed in detail. The author mentions that

the statute was passed in 1871 during the Reconstruction Era to implement the 13th, 14th, and

15th Amendments to the Constitution. Signorelli contends that as a result of the development

in case law on Section 1983, there was a dramatic rise in personal injury cases against munic-

ipalities. The author points out that amounts paid by New York City alone for personal injury

cases rose from US$21.4 million in 1978 to US$570 million in 2004. In his discussion of

Tennessee v. Garner (1985), the author criticizes the restrictions placed on officers against

shooting fleeing felons, which put the officers’ careers and personal assets at stake as a result