Police Officers’ Perilous Task

Re the article “Police Officers Find Their Task Increasingly Perilous,” March 20:

Your article was enlightening. Unfortunately, it left out a major risk faced by officers and one that is causing many officers to consider changing their line of work: namely, the risk of personal civil and/or criminal liability for doing their job too well.

As demonstrated by the current and past Rodney King beating trials, as well as several other excessive-force trials, officers increasingly face personal civil and criminal liability for investigating crime and arresting suspects. Officers’ actions are judged by “Monday morning quarterback” juries whose makeup must now “reflect” the racial and/or socioeconomic background of the “victim” of the allegedly excessive force. Police work is the only area where the victim’s racial background is somehow considered relevant to determining the alleged perpetrator’s guilt or innocence.

I have several friends who are police officers. As a friend and civil litigation attorney, I routinely advise them to quit. This advice is based upon the fact that they must be out of their minds to accept the increasing risks of personal injury, civil and criminal liability simply for doing their jobs. Moreover, their efforts are unappreciated and largely wasted because the public lacks the will to seriously enforce criminal laws and because the public openly disparages officers and their work.

STEVEN A. SILVER

Encino