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RE: Run away/complaint against a cop

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cam2

Junior Member
RE: Run away/complaint against a cop

What is the name of your state? Washington

Got another question. So, the 2nd day after she returned home her mom struck her with a big glass jar (They used it to keep change in, it's a big solid glass jar. She got cut up and called the police. Her mom is now in jail. The girl is now waiting to get emancipated and is currently living with us again. Now, my mother was wondering if she could sue the city/state or police department?

We told them that she would get physically abused if she was forced to return hom and the girl pleaded for them to not take her home because she was going to get beat. But, they didn't listen and brought her strait back to her mothers. Do we have a case?


p.s. I don't want stay-at-home mothers advice. Keep it to on-topic LEGAL discussion from people who actual have some knowledge of the law, because the last thread I posted, a bunch of holier-then-thou A-holes came into my thread spouting judgments and very little legal advice, which they were 100% wrong about anyways. Thanks to the people that actually helped in that thread though.

original thread here: https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=384482
 
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CdwJava

Senior Member
Now, my mother was wondering if she could sue the city/state or police department?
For what?!? How is the city or the police department responsible for the actions of her mother?

We told them that she would get physically abused if she was forced to return hom and the girl pleaded for them to not take her home because she was going to get beat. But, they didn't listen and brought her strait back to her mothers. Do we have a case?
No. Unless a court has stripped mom of her parental rights, or the child otherwise falls under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the police would have NO OTHER OPTION but to return the child to her home. In fact, had they NOT returned the child and failed to articulate any reasonable belief the child would be injured upon return, they could possibly be charged with a crime. Most every runaway and their supporters claim a child will get beat when they are returned home ... in the vast majority of instances that is simply NOT the case.

If the shoe were on the other foot, and your child were a runaway, would you want to have your child stripped from you simply because the child said they would get whupped when they got home? The law has not quite reached that point in most places of the country just yet.

Tragedies happen all the time. But the police and the city did not cause this. Unless there are details missing that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the child was in grave danger if returned home, then I do not see that the child has a cause of action against an agent of the state. But, she is free to consult an attorney if you want to pay for one.

- Carl
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
You should keep your questions in the prior thread. No one wants to dig to find out your history.

But, for what it's worth: I'm sorry, you have not hit the municipality lottery today! Play again tomorrow!
 

cam2

Junior Member
@ Carl, The city refused to listen to both sides of the story. There were FILED police reports of previous physical/verbal abuse. We informed them of this and that if she returned that it would happen again. We asked them if there were any other options, like temporary housing until she could get emancipated and the police told us that "This information isn't prevelent to you, because you have no say in what happens to her" (paraphrasing). The girl pleaded and cried to not go back to her mothers and they took her anyways.


It is the police departments fault she got beat up. Period. Granted her mother did the actual beating but the police basically put her in a house with her mom and said continue on with your business. The police were WELL aware that it was not a safe situation to put a child in and I think there would have to be some kind of prevention measures for situations like this. If there were, they blatantly disregarded them and if there isn't. There needs to be.

Bottom line is a girl got sent to the hospital, after we told the police she would end up in the hospital if she went back to her mothers.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
@ Carl, The city refused to listen to both sides of the story. There were FILED police reports of previous physical/verbal abuse.
Filed reports are not the same as convictions, and certainly not the same as having the child removed from the home by the court. Kids make complaints all the time - most the time the complaints are insufficient to justify removing a child from the home.

We informed them of this and that if she returned that it would happen again. We asked them if there were any other options, like temporary housing until she could get emancipated and the police told us that "This information isn't prevelent to you, because you have no say in what happens to her" (paraphrasing). The girl pleaded and cried to not go back to her mothers and they took her anyways.
Apparently you have no legal standing in the matter, so the police were certainly not obligated to give you ANY information.

As for the emancipation, what makes you think she WILL get emancipated? I don't know what state you are in, but in most states emancipation is very rarely granted, and then only under situations where the child is extremely mature and responsible ... working, going to school, etc. They do not emancipate a child to live with a friend or other party. If mom loses custody, it is likely the child will go into foster care or be placed with a family member.

It is the police departments fault she got beat up. Period.
Legally? No. It's not.

If she can find an attorney willing to spend the time and effort to try and squeeze some money from the police, she can go right ahead. You can even front her the money to pay for the attorney if you wish.

But, unless it can be proven that the police had good reason to believe that the child was going to get unlawfully attacked when she was returned home, they did nothing wrong. Failing to take another available discretionary action (like, placing her in foster care) is NOT going to make them liable without good cause to believe she faced great physical harm at home. If they had two choices - foster care or return home - then they can exercise those legal options.

The police were WELL aware that it was not a safe situation to put a child in and I think there would have to be some kind of prevention measures for situations like this. If there were, they blatantly disregarded them and if there isn't. There needs to be.
Being aware and being able to legally act on the knowledge are different things. Very often, law enforcement is restricted pursuant to statute as to what they may do in a situation. When we recover a runaway child, most the time we have one option: return the child home. Absent a court order preventing it, or some very present and articulable belief that the child is in danger, no other action is generally going to be generally lawful. And the alternative action is generally going to be temporary foster care while CPS sorts the issue out.

Bottom line is a girl got sent to the hospital, after we told the police she would end up in the hospital if she went back to her mothers.
Being right does not equate to having a cause for action. She has a great suit against her mother (not that it will avail her anything), but a very expensive one against the city. If you want to arrange for her to consult an attorney at your expense, go right ahead. However, as you are not her legal guardian, you will not be required to be kept in the loop. And if the attorney asks for payment up front, the case is a loser.

Obviously, I have no idea what the officers knew at the time or what they could have known. Very likely they had a runaway and returned her home, and without a court order to the contrary or reason to believe she would be stomped on, they likely had no other legal recourse.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
According to your original thread:

Okay, so my sisters best friend ran away from home. Apparently, her mom physically(Not 100% sure this one is true) and emotionally abuses her to the point where she has attempted to commit suicide multiple time.... We try to explain to them the circumstance but they brush it all off and say we are in the wrong no matter what. She went outside the second her name was mentioned and then they took her away.
... you did not have proof at that time of physical abuse by mom. If you did not have proof, how were the officers expected to have proof?

From what you wrote in that original post, it does not appear that the officers had anything more to go on than you did, and all they knew was they had a runaway inside your house, and even YOU were not sure of any physical abuse.

I don't see any good cause of action against the police in this light at all.

(NOTE: You did not post the link to your original thread until after replies had been made ... I had not been following that thread.)

- Carl
 

cam2

Junior Member
According to your original thread:


... you did not have proof at that time of physical abuse by mom. If you did not have proof, how were the officers expected to have proof?

From what you wrote in that original post, it does not appear that the officers had anything more to go on than you did, and all they knew was they had a runaway inside your house, and even YOU were not sure of any physical abuse.

I don't see any good cause of action against the police in this light at all.

(NOTE: You did not post the link to your original thread until after replies had been made ... I had not been following that thread.)

- Carl
I wasn't aware of the police reports that were filed previously. I made that post literally 15 minutes after the police left and I was still gathering facts. Apparently there was one 2 years ago and another 8 or so months ago. The police should have known about them though, no?

(Yeah i did. I just spelled original wrong and went back up and edited it and added a URL tag, because people obviously weren't seeing it)
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
I wasn't aware of the police reports that were filed previously.
Apparently the officers weren't, either. And, as I said, a report is not proof of anything - certainly not a conviction or a court order.

The police should have known about them though, no?
Someone in the office or records' division, maybe, but not the officers in the field.

Since there had obviously NOT been a court order filed to protect the child, no charges had yet been brought against mom for any previous complaint, and CPS had apparently not been so concerned as to remove the child from mom's care and custody, the officers could only act on the information they had at hand. This is why there is no viable claim against the city or the police.

No officer walks around having instant and complete notice of every report ever filed. The information most likely for the officer to receive is a premise history (that is, a warning made in the dispatch system concerning the location), a court order or arrest warrant concerning the party or parties involved, driver's license status, and any warnings regarding the parties involved (known to carry guns, be combative, etc.). The officers do not have access to every report ever written and they cannot reasonably be expected to know this information even if it WERE found to be relevant. Besides, even if they had known of the existence of these reports, they very likely had no other option than to bring the child home. MAYBE they could have exercised option B and sent the child to CPS, but failure to do so is certainly not actionable under the circumstances.

Sorry, but any pound of flesh to be had here will have to be taken from mom.

It might be worthwhile to contact the agency involved and see if they can amend their policies or practices to include a records' search for prior reports prior to returning a child home, or, that they contact CPS in any issue like this where the child is articulating a fear for her safety. Maybe that will help prevent future incidents like this one.

The police do NOT want a child to get thumped. To think otherwise is absurd. Had they been able to articulate a reasonable belief this would happen, I can pretty much guarantee that they would have done something else in the situation ... I have known officers to bend the rules to the brink of breaking in order to keep a child from an abusive or dangerous home at least until some other authorities could look into the matter. I imagine these officers would have done the same had there been something substantial to hold on to.

- Carl
 
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