Quote:
Originally Posted by andymarksman
And I am quite certain a slew of lawsuits will be filed against the City of Dallas by alleged victims who claim they've been blackmailed by Kattner in like manner. From what I've read so far, he had committed the said sexual assault while on the other job(not on police duty I guess), but he was in a marked police squard car and in uniform (also holding his service weapon during the assault). Just wondering whether the City of Dallas is liable for acts committed by its personnels not on official capacity when the forementioned offense took place, and if his suicide makes it more daunting to the city to fight the upcoming lawsuits in the foreseen future? I would like ShysterJon and those who are interested in this issue to chime in as well.
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You guys kill me sometime. You invoke my name like I'm a genie, or as if I read every post in every Eccie forum. Although I try to, I can't.
(A member emailed me today about this thread.) The best method to have GenieJon magically appear and render his legal opinions is to email me at
ShysterJon@gmail.com.
The sexual assault victims might sue Kattner's estate (his estate now owns the assets Kattner owned at the time of his death) for various torts, such as battery. But the more complicated matter is suing Kattner's estate and the City of Dallas for civil rights violations. This is an area of the law I'm very familiar with. I've sued cities and I've defended cities. It's also a complicated topic, and I'll not attempt a thorough analysis of the Kattner case. But I'll say this:
If Kattner used the authority of his office as a cop to coerce women to have sex with him, his estate could be liable under federal civil rights statutes. However, in my opinion, it's unlikely that the city would also be held liable. For the city to be found at fault, the plaintiffs (that is, the assaulted women who brought the lawsuits) would have to show that Kattner acted under the "color of state law." That means that the plaintiffs would have to prove that Kattner acted pursuant to an official City of Dallas Police Department policy, or a DPD practice or custom. I can imagine evidence that would prove that, but I'm unaware that such evidence exists (and I'm intimately familiar with DPD policies, customs, and practices). When the city is sued (as it will inevitably be), the city will defend that Kattner acted outside the scope of his authority as a DPD cop, and went rogue and acted solely on his own.
