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Many police officers fear being sued more than being murdered

U.S. law enforcement agencies are struggling with the threat of lawsuits regarding the conduct of officers.

Officials said the threat has become so acute that many officers would rather die than be sued. They said this has seriously hurt law enforcement and endangered the lives of officers.

"Some officers today are more afraid of being sued than being murdered," Olympia Fields, Ill. Police Chief Jeff Chudwin said.

In a recent address to a police convention, Mr. Chudwin said the actions of numerous officers have created additional victims of crimes. He said officers often avoid using deadly force even when it's legal and required.

"If you're putting an offender at the top of the list for safety, then you have your priorities screwed up," Mr. Chudwin told the Association of SWAT Personnel-Wisconsin. "Why are we catering to the person who created the problem?"

Law enforcement officials echoed Mr. Chudwin's assertion, saying only 25 percent of off-duty officers carry a gun. The officials, some of whom work in the FBI, acknowledged that the threat of lawsuits, particularly when backed by civil rights groups, usually block the careers of top officers.

"Police and other agencies have become very ambiguous over the justification of force," an official said. "The threat of political pressure has become a leading factor."

In a speech entitled "Surviving Officer-Involved Shootings and the Aftermath," Mr. Chudwin, a former prosecutor, told a tactical operations seminar of cases in which officers refused to use deadly force.

He presented videos of a plainclothes officer slashed by a knife-wielding suspect during a struggle. The officer gave his pistol to his colleague when trying to subdue the suspect. Mr. Chudwin said the officer, slashed in the face and neck, was afraid his gun would discharge during the struggle.

"He gets praised by the media for showing restraint, but what he did makes my skin crawl," Mr. Chudwin said. "Why didn't he shove the muzzle in the suspect's eye and pull the trigger?"

In another example, an officer responds to a call regarding a man seen in a supermarket with a gun. Mr. Chudwin said the officer refused to leave her patrol car even as the gunman forced a bystander to the ground. The bystander was then shot in the head and killed as the officer watched. In the end, backup police officers killed the gunman. Mr. Chudwin said colleagues of the unresponsive officer believed she "did nothing wrong."

In another case, a SWAT team surrounded a gunman who fired in a residential neighborhood. The team was commanded not to shoot even as the gunman pointed his pistol toward the officers. Finally, the gunman was shot.

In some cases, Mr. Chudwin said, SWAT officers refused special training because they deemed it too dangerous. He said these officers have been influenced by commanders who encourage the use of pepper spray against assailants, which Mr. Chudwin said does not work.

“When you go out on the street, the first thing you say when you get in your patrol car should not be, ‘Oh, God, I might get sued today,’” Mr. Chudwin said. "You really have nothing personally to fear from liability when you follow law, policy and procedure. But fear of liability has led to the murders of police officers."

"If you're more concerned about getting sued than getting murdered, you can't do the job like it needs to be done," he added. "You're a threat to yourself and to others."