Why are police officers often not charged with crimes?

The reasons why officers across the country are often not charged is due to a complicated set of factors unique to each case including the lack of a thorough investigation, the weight of an officer’s word, and, of course, the softer approach prosecutors take with police defendants said University of Baltimore Law School Professor David Jaros.

Can a police officer be prosecuted for a shooting?

Police are very rarely prosecuted for shootings — and not just because the law allows them wide latitude to use force on the job. Sometimes the investigations fall onto the same police department the officer is from, which creates major conflicts of interest.

Can a police officer face criminal charges for using excessive force?

As we wrote earlier this summer, it’s actually quite rare for police officers to face criminal legal consequences for using excessive force — or even fatal violence — against civilians.

Should prosecutors’ relationship with police be changed?

Altering prosecutors’ relationship with police isn’t a simple or easy reform, for instance — it would be a fundamental shift in the way our criminal justice system works. Of course, prosecution isn’t the only legal route for holding police officers accountable for misconduct.

Do prosecutors accept the police’s version of events?

“Prosecutors tend to accept the officer’s version as credible,” said A. Dwight Pettit, a Baltimore civil rights attorney who represents plaintiffs in police brutality cases.

Does the legal system give police the benefit of the doubt?

“The legal system gives the police the benefit of the doubt but doesn’t give it to the average citizen,” Jaros said. And even when cases do go to trial we see that officers waive jury trials and try their case in front of a judge who tends to be more sympathetic to police officers.

Should prosecutors be independent in cases of deadly force by police?

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee introduced legislation that would mandate independent prosecutors in cases of deadly force by police officers to not only ensure a clean investigation but also to remove any professional bias a local prosecutor with a daily working relationship may have when coming across a police defendant.