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Police Officer Liability Under Illinois Law

NCJ Number
152298
Journal
Illinois Bar Journal Volume: 82 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1994) Pages: 554-558
Author(s)
R H Hanaford
Date Published
1994
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the liabilities imposed upon and immunities granted to police officers under Illinois Tort Immunity Act and other Illinois law.
Abstract
The Tort Immunity Act provides that a municipality is not liable for injury that results from the conduct of its employees if they themselves are not liable. An employee will not be liable if the conduct occurred while he/she was executing or enforcing any law, unless the conduct is willful and wanton. If, on the other hand, the police officer was not "executing or enforcing" the law in the technical sense of the act and the cases interpreting it, or if the officer owed a "special duty" to the plaintiff, then both the officer and the municipal employer may be liable based on the officer's negligence. For conduct to be willful and wanton, it need not be intentional. Rather, it is "a course of conduct which shows an actual or deliberate intention to cause harm or which, if not intentional, shows an utter indifference to or conscious disregard for the safety of others or their property." This article examines the implication of Illinois law for police liability in car chases, failure to arrest or enforce laws, and the use of force. 47 footnotes

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