Duty to train

THE DUTY TO TRAIN OFFICERS IS UNAFFECTED

BY THE LACK OF REIMBURSEMENT SOURCES

Recently our office has been contacted by a large number of clients inquiring

as to whether their duty to train peace officers was mitigated by the lack of
reimbursement by P.O.S.T or similar agency. The answer to this question is
a resounding no. The lack of funding from outside sources does not, in any
way, relieve a department of its obligation to train its officers.
The United States Supreme Court has held, “inadequate police training may
form the basis for a civil rights claim against the city where the failure to
train amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of persons the police
are likely to encounter....The focus must be on the adequacy of a training
program in relation to the duties the officers are expected to perform and
the identified deficiency, in a city’s training program....1

The decision to eliminate training programs or reduce the amount of

training, based upon the lack of reimbursement sources, would most
likely be viewed, by a court, as deliberate indifference to the rights
of others. (Emphasis added)

Take for example, Davis v. Mason County, 927 F.2d 1473 (9th Cir. 1991).

This case involved a Sheriff and several deputies being found liable for civil
rights violations arising out of traffic stops which resulted in arrests,
beatings and false charges being filed against the motorists. The
inadequacy of the training program, which represented the county’s official
policy, constituted a deliberate indifference to the rights of others, as a
matter of law. In sum, your duty to provide training for peace officers is
not, in any way, mitigated by the lack of funds to reimburse your
department for such training.
Martin J. Mayer, Jones & Mayer
General Counsel
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs’ Association
1 City of Canton Ohio v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989).
This memo was originally issued on March 10, 2003 and was republished by CPOA and the
author on Jan. 28, 2009.


http://www.aele.org/mjm-duty2train.pdf