Insurers force change on police departments long resistant to it

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:

The Washington Post
@washingtonpost
·
Follow
The high cost of settlements over police misconduct has led insurers to demand police departments overhaul tactics or forgo coverage

washingtonpost.com
Insurers force change on police departments long resistant to it
Insurance companies are successfully dictating reforms in police departments, a movement driven by the large settlements out of use-of-force cases.
7:16 AM · Sep 14, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/police-misconduct-insurance-settlements-reform/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/FsCHz

ST. ANN, Mo. — A patrol officer spotted a white minivan with an expired license plate, flipped on his lights and siren, and when the driver failed to stop, gave chase. The driver fled in rush-hour traffic at speeds of up to 90 mph, as other officers joined in the pursuit. Ten miles later, the van slammed into a green Toyota Camry, leaving its 55-year-old driver, Brent Cox, permanently disabled.

That 2017 police chase was at the time the latest in a long line of questionable vehicle pursuits by officers of the St. Ann Police Department. Eleven people had been injured in 19 crashes during high-speed pursuits over the two prior years. Social justice activists and reporters were scrutinizing the department, and Cox and others were suing.

Undeterred, St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez stood behind the high-octane pursuits and doubled down on the department’s decades-old motto: “St. Ann will chase you until the wheels fall off.”

Then, an otherwise silent stakeholder stepped in. The St. Louis Area Insurance Trust risk pool — which provided liability coverage to the city of St. Ann and the police department — threatened to cancel coverage if the department didn’t impose restrictions on its use of police chases. City officials shopped around for alternative coverage but soon learned that costs would nearly double if they did not agree to their insurer’s demands.

*snip*

[Faux pas]

1. Yes Please!

[EYESORE 9001]

2. What took them so long?

If I get in a car accident, my premium goes up. Some municipalities have been racking up huge settlements for years. Why shouldn’t they pay the price for keeping bad cops on the force?

[2naSalit]

15. +1

The court awards for their misdeeds should come out of pocket for the perps.

[unweird]

23. Respectfully disagree

Last edited Wed Sep 14, 2022, 07:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I would suggest that in these times there are other methods of pursuit that do not involve risky behaviors such as these chases. Besides the lack of resources on the part of the perps to satisfy the judgements which would leave the real victims without a pittance of restitution.

[2naSalit]

24. I would accept...

A combination of the two.

[MontanaMama]

19. +1

Absolutely agree.

[The Bopper]

31. Not sure

Letting a criminal escape should be the first thought. The same people would declare crime is overrunning is and the cops are useless. In this particular case unless the vehicle was involved in a felony, it’s easy to say the pursuit shouldn’t have happened but we’ve seen where people have sued the police for inaction. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

[ZonkerHarris]

3. Every police officer in the nation needs required malpractice insurance like a doctor

You abuse a citizen?
It's on your insurance, not the city and citizens.
Your premiums go up so far because you suck at policing and cant afford to be a cop?
Job done.

[SheltieLover]

5. Absolutely!

[Ziggysmom]

9. Great idea. Due to the good old boys club, bad cops have been protected for far too long!

[multigraincracker]

14. Add regular blood test for illegal drugs, including steroids.

Most dangerous jobs now require that.

[2naSalit]

16. Great way to filter out the shitty cops!

I approve this method!

[TexasTowelie]

26. I'll play the role of devil's advocate

to point out that such a requirement may influence some people from becoming LEOs. That may hinder the dismissal of the "bad cops" if there aren't any qualified candidates as replacements.

[ZonkerHarris]

29. so be it. Probably the kind of cops we dont want if this requirement will keep them away

like the ones that dont want bodycams

[TexasTowelie]

30. There is a difference between an insurance requirement and bodycams.

Individual LEOs do not have to contribute money for bodycams, but insurance requirements do place a financial burden on individuals. Law enforcement agencies would most likely have to increase the pay to LEOs to offset those requirements. However, the pay raises to LEOs would eventually fall to the taxpayer.

Risk pools like the one which St. Ann is a member do have the advantage of being able to offer lower insurance premium since the risks are passed upon a larger base which includes the "good cops." If liability is switched to individual LEOs then as the costs are passed along the chain (such as increasing LEO pay) it will actually increase the burden on taxpayers.

It will also increase the amount of administrative work at LEO agencies since someone will have to monitor compliance to verify that the coverage hasn't lapsed and that policies are renewed after each policy term. From an administrative point of view, think about the reminder notices that will be sent before the end of the policy term, to LEOs with lapse policies, the process of terminating officers that don't comply with the requirement, and any reporting requirements that the local agencies may have to either the state or federal levels.

Initially, it sounds like a good idea to have the individual officers hold responsibility. However, if you examine the complexities and economic impact it becomes apparent that there are a lot of kinks and additional expenses that will need to be addressed to make the suggestion feasible.

[yankee87]

28. Agreed

So right

[crickets]

4. Good! Finally. nt

[SheltieLover]

6. Long overdue!

[dalton99a]

7. Make them individually liable as well - legally and financially

Why should local taxpayers pay for their crimes and bullshit?

[The Bopper]

32. Reality

The express nature of the job is you are required to put yourself between the good guys and the bad guys. In Uvalde the cops, rightfully were eviscerated for acting too cautiously and in this case, once again rightfully for being too aggressive. Sounds like a shitty job where second guessing will always be a part of it. No matter how much you pay.

[Hekate]

8. When I look at the latest settlement for some police dep't thuggery I wonder: when are the citizens

…of that city going to get sick and tired of paying out?

Now it looks like insurance companies are starting to say “enough.” Fingers crossed.

[BComplex]

10. In this country, it's ONLY MONEY, NOT character or integrity, that makes people do the

right thing to begin with?

Fuck!

[thesquanderer]

17. This, exactly. :-( (n/t)

[bucolic_frolic]

11. Is this a sly form of "defunding the police?"

[Nevilledog]

13. Or, you know, they could stop terrorizing, beating, and killing citizens.

[uponit7771]

12. K&R,

[flying_wahini]

18. And to top it off Make part of the damages come out of the Police retirement fund.

This would encourage other cops to stop bad cop behavior .

[ProfessorGAC]

20. It's A Good Start, But...

...only a start.
As someone above asked, what took so long?
Bad drivers have been tossed into high risk pools almost forever.
Health & life insurance is more expensive if the client is older.
This is how insurance works.
Why did it take so long to develop risk tiers & set premiums accordingly?
We need all insurers to take this tack, rather than making slight increases to every premium, thereby punishing those who aren't the problem.

[Ford_Prefect]

21. The Market Place has Spoken!

[Ohioboy]

22. I was just about to say that

[Old Crank]

25. No matter

The citizens pay. They pay for high payouts or high insurance rates. It all comes from the public's purse.

It is a shame that it took intervention from profit seekers to get any action at all on this.
Nothing was done to change attitudes until it impacted police budgets.
But their attitude still remains the same.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. It's about damn time

I know that in the late '70s, literally a couple months after my mom bought a new car, there was a police chase in the neighborhood - and this was in the middle of winter with snow/ice still riddling the streets, and one of the police cars slammed into the side of her car which was parked in front of her house. Her insurance covered it but they had to duke it out with the city for the reimbursement.

Just their conduct in general has cost municipalities millions and millions of tax payer money in settlements... Yet the problem persists.