The High Cost of Bad Policing— Ep 2

REAL TALK-#2  https://youtu.be/F8U6ZtICVjc

The High Cost of Bad Policing—and Why Cops & Chiefs, Not Academics, Must Step Up to Fix It

I’m going to lay out some problems; I need you to help with the answers. This is going to be uncomfortable for a few minutes, but let’s stare down the price tag of bad policing today in SC. It’s not just bruised egos or viral videos—it’s also cold, hard cash ripped out of the taxpayers’ pockets.

Now, most departments lean on insurance pools comprised of cities, counties, the state, schools, jails, any other governmental institution, to dodge the fallout of lawsuits.  Cities and counties, in states like South Carolina tap into funds like the SC Insurance Reserve Fund (IRF) to settle lawsuits or handshake deals between attorneys. I live in South Carolina, so this is where I started and I’ve dug deep into the numbers here, spiked with a few jaw-droppers from across the U.S. I invite you to look into your statistics and send them to me. The statistics scream a story: we’re bleeding money, trust, and accountability. How do we stop it? The answer’s not in some professor’s computer—it’s with the cops who’ve walked the walk.  The statistics tell a story of its own.  It’s time for us to speak up, speak out and get this fixed! There’s a lot to consider, so get prepared…

The Numbers Don’t Lie: This is a Taxpayer’s Nightmare
South Carolina’s Insurance Reserve Fund is a goldmine of not-so-great information.  I’ll leave the URL in the notes at the end of the podcast where you can look it up yourself what I’m talking about; it’s public information. They make it hard to extract the exact information you want, but if you stay at it, you can compile the information you need. I tried to contact them via email for information, but they never answered.  Maybe they’re not going to offer anything unless you hit them up with a FOYA.  (https://cg.sc.gov/fiscal-transparency/sc-insurance-reserve-fund-payments).

Between 2015 and 2019, the SC Insurance Reserve Fund shelled out $91 million dollars for claims against law enforcement—$53 million to victims and a staggering $38 million to lawyers the Insurance Reserve Fund, which the state of SC hired to defend the lawsuits at up to $175.00 an hour. Again I’ll give you my resource for that information at the end.  (Charleston Post and Courier, Dec 22, 2019*).

Now let’s zoom into the 2nd Quarter 2022 (this is only for 3 months): false arrests in this state alone cost $2.25 million dollars across 28 claims—averaging $80,454 a pop, and dragged on for an average three years for a resolution to a claim, some festering up to nine years. Tell me, is there any incentive to resolve these claims quickly… or is the incentive to string them out for years?  Remember, the lawyers get paid up to $175 dollars an hour!  We’ll talk about all this in a later podcast;  I’ve got a lot to say.

Fast forward to the 1st Quarter of 2024 (for just 3 months again): There was $9.24 million in total claims paid out against law enforcement. In just FY 2024--- false arrests ONLY claims paid out hit $3.87 million. That’s millions siphoned from roads, schools, or more badges, increased salaries—straight to courtroom cash grabs.

Nationally, this is a billion-dollar dumpster fire. The Washington Post (March 9, 2022**) tracked 25 major departments that coughed up $3.2 billion over a 10 year period—40,000+ payouts, and that’s ignoring anything under $1,000. One Detroit cop racked up 10 claims, costing the city $665,000. Over 7,600 officers had multiple payouts, with 1,200 hitting five or more, and 200 topped ten or more claims. I, personally have a hard time believing these multiple payouts were from good cops. These repeat offenders tank the reputations of departments with solid records, leaving good cops to eat the stench. Why didn’t the cities rectify this?

The Federal courts aren’t sleeping either—March of 2024 saw 1,588 new civil rights filings, up 4.5% from the prior month of February’s 1,520. Every dollar is tax money—yours and mine—that could’ve hired more police, given raises or fixed potholes. Instead, it’s padding all these attorney’s wallets with no accountability trail.

The Black Hole: Who’s to Blame?
Who’s behind the false arrests, brutality, civil rights trampling, or negligent supervision? The Insurance Reserve Fund’s data is like a vault—claims like false arrest, sexual assault or shootings vanish into the “settled” abyss. No names, no badge numbers, no clue if the officer got a slap, a seminar, unpaid vacation or a promotion; or maybe the officer was completely cleared and they decided to settle, “because it was “Cheaper than going to trial”. We don’t know. That opacity fuels the fire for public unrest and officer distrust. Internet posts scream it: “$9M gone, and we don’t even know who f’d up!” Bad publicity’s and the lack of information is the real killer here—insurance covers the cash payouts, not the stink that bad publicity brings. A few bad officers on any department can cause a large organization to get a bad name, even if the officers and the department has an outstanding record of professional conduct and service to the public.

Now let me give you some personal history here. I’ve been a street cop—I’m a retired Detective Sergeant in Massachusetts. I’ve had bogus complaints and lawsuits thrown at me. One of the lawsuits hit Superior Court; I testified for hours, and at lunchtime the judge tossed it out. I had one other lame lawsuit, the insurance company settled behind my back—the insurance company cut a check; I knew nothing about it until I read about it in the newspaper. Upon questioning the city what the hell was going on, I was told the insurance company had total control of the settlement and paid out a small amount agreed upon as they said it was a lot cheaper than going to trial.  I think the city also agreed to it to keep the lawyers cost down thereby keeping the insurance costs down.

 I was never deposed for this lawsuit.  This, to me, was unprofessional as hell, as all it does is encourage complaints and lawsuits from drive-by lawyers who know they’ll get a settlement. All the complaints against me? Dismissed, pure fiction. But the damage can linger for good officers—credibility can be chipped away at. False gripes can gut an officer’s career, and we can’t let that stand unchecked.

Transparency on Trial: Who Gets to Know?
So, when an officer is nailed for unprofessional conduct—reprimanded, suspended, fired, whatever—should the complainant or the public ever hear the verdict? Departments tend to mumble to the complainant, “It’s been handled,” or “They’ve been disciplined,” but clam up on the details. They won’t give it out. Is that enough? If a cop is willfully breaking laws or policies, doesn’t the public—paying millions in fallout—deserve to know? Does a victim, who may have been maybe illegally cuffed, detained or roughed up, have a right to closure?  If charges and verdicts against the public are public documents, should an officer’s also be if a complaint is found credible and provable?  Does an insurance company payout make a complaint credible?  Absolutely not. Take my case I just described to you, when the insurance company paid out, it hit the newspaper as a settlement and a win against the department from drive-by journalist.  They never talk about how small the settlement was.  I was branded by the news as a bad officer, but the truth never came out, no one was interested in the other side of the story.  This absolutely can cut both ways.  I was never a fan of insurance settlements unless there is true wrongdoing, as it just invites more lawsuits; but right now, officers have no say.  It’s time for a change.

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We have to face it sometime, and one of the biggest questions I hear from the public is: if we have to obey the law, don’t police officers also?  How do you say “NO” to that?  If the general public has to pay fines for minor offenses, should police officers have to pay for offenses that are intentional?  Let me know what you think here!  I believe this is a very interesting question and I’d like to hear any reasoning from officers that say “No”.  I have my reasons, but I want to hear yours first!

Now let’s flip the script: officers face revenge complaints too. Police officers in their normal course of duty will most likely at some time in their career will have a complaint or a lawsuit placed against them from some punk or someone they arrested.  They want to “get back” at the officer for some reason or other; who may want to injure their reputation or wants to be able to get out of an arrest by offering to drop the complaint or the lawsuit if the D.A. drops the charges.

I’ve lived it—hours defending lies, stress gnawing at my integrity. Reform can’t just shield victims; it also has to protect good cops from bad faith. If you learn anything, Balance matters—hold officers to a higher bar, but also hold the public to a high bar; don’t let the public’s pitchforks swing wild on flimsy claims. This is where police chiefs and district attorneys need to step in and file charges against anyone making false police reports.  I know that’s a tough road for some chiefs and D.A.’s as most of time they just let it go with a warning to the person.  That’s bullshit! They don’t want to spend the time or funds on issues they see as minor; that must also change to protect the integrity of our officers.

Here’s where I believe real reform needs to kick off: Police chiefs. Yes, I said Police Chiefs.  In South Carolina, they’re ‘at will’—councils or mayors can axe ‘em for nothing or anything. No contract, no guts. Police chiefs can’t push for that $60K starting pay for rookie pay, they know the 12 weeks academy training’s a joke even if they can’t say it, $9 million paid out statewide in lawsuits yearly—keeps bleeding because they have to kneel to suits. Give ‘em a contract—say, 3 or 4 years—and watch ‘em  fight for their officers.  They could demand $60K starting rookie pay and get much higher educated individuals that want to serve the public—they can fight to stretch rookie training to the national average of 21 weeks, not 12.  They can fight for yearly training that keeps the officers updated on new laws and court decisions. Officers need stability in their leadership, not changes in their workplace every time a city council gets a hair up their butt and decides to fire and replace a chief on a whim.  Strong leadership makes a strong department with great officers.

Sheriffs get 4 year contracts when they’re elected.  But SC chiefs gotta have to claw for it—no law is going to hand it over to them. They’d have to face down councils—‘give me 4 years or I walk’. By offering a contract, cities would be in a position to attract the very BEST person to become the police chief for their city, someone who could fight for the very best for their officers, not someone risking the boot on a whim from a city council because they don’t like his proposals or his officers arrested a councilor’s relative.  

School superintendents get contracts.  Most get 4 year deals--boards lock ‘em in for stability. Chiefs? No stability, at-will pawns—and city councils dodge accountability, I’ve lived it—cops need chiefs who fight for them, not fold.  The job is tough enough without having to worry about politics every damn day. Yeah, it’s going to take guts, it’s going to take true leadership, but that’s what the men and women under them want, need and deserve.  True, there will always be someone in the corner who will take the job as an “at will” employee or for a lesser amount, or will tell the city council they’ll be at their service, but they will forever be walking on eggshells their entire, short term in office. I implore all chiefs to try and get a contract and support your officers with hard-core bargaining.

Hit realtalkbehindthebadge.comContracts for chiefs—why not? You tell me.”

Reform’s drowning in academic ink—stats on brutality rates, theories on trust. They’ve got the grants and podiums, but they’ve never wrestled a drunk at 2 a.m., felt a fist to the jaw, or faced an armed assailant while keeping cool. I’ve been there—adrenaline spiking, chaos roaring, then judged by Monday morning armchair generals and half-assed journalists.

Street cops live the grind—years on patrol, not pages in a journal. We know where policies choke, and what works. Reform without our voice?  It’s resentment fuel—half-assed compliance at best.  Great chiefs who’ve run great departments. Many have got the scars and the clout. That’s what we need to fix this—not bureaucrats, desk jockeys, or PhDs who think policing’s a spreadsheet or a walk in the park.

In closing, the answers to police reform MUST come from police officers, not the academics, bureaucrats, desk jockeys or the public who doesn’t know a thing about policing. It must come from you and me; our brother and sister officers in the business of policing.  If we don’t act and speak out, they will, and we will forever be on the short end of the stick again.

This podcast is hopefully where it starts and I hope I’m not pissin’ in the wind. I hope over time we can discuss a multitude of items, accomplish this task and come up with hard and fast solutions that can be submitted to legislators and written into law.

(The Call: Cops, Step Up)
This podcast is ground zero. I’m not here for theories or to hear myself talk—I want answers from officers who’ve walked the walk. You, me, our brothers and sisters in blue—we’ve got the grit to cut through the bullshit. Academics can keep talking and tallying the cost; we’ll build the cure. Join me at realtalkbehindthebadge.com. Drop your state, department (active or retired), what you’ve seen, and what solutions you have in mind. It’s out there, we just need to find it.  Let’s hash out hard fixes—stuff we can shove in front of lawmakers and make stick.  We are just starting this journey and we’d be pleased to have you join us.

If you’ve got answers you like to share and you want to do it live, let me know.  If you’d like to be a guest on our show, let me know. Thanks for bringing your boots to the fight.

Go to realtalkbehindthebadge.com, that’s realtalkbehindthebadge.com and drop a comment or rant; and if you can, drop a couple bucks to help us out and help keep this going. This podcast stuff ain’t cheap or easy on a cop retiree’s salary!  Cops with scars, locals with gripes—your voices fuel this. Let’s tackle the mess behind the badge together.

Now you can view our podcasts on YouTube, “Real Talk Behind the Badge” as we make them.  If you hit subscribe, you’ll be notified of each podcast.  Please hit like also. We’re also on Facebook at Real Talk Behind the Badge, where you can also view all our podcasts.

Thanks to all our brothers and sisters behind the badge.  Keep it going and we’ll get this fixed!  Stay safe.

This is Real Talk.  Signing off until next time.

Thank you and take care.

 

 

*(Charleston S.C. Post and Courier, Dec 22, 2019 – Fleming Smith)

**(Washington Post, Keith L. Alexander, Steven Rich and Hannah Thacker, March 9, 2022)

*** (https://cg.sc.gov/fiscal-transparency/sc-insurance-reserve-fund-payments)

 

 

In South Carolina, between 2015 and 2019, about $91,000,000.00 was paid out for claims against law enforcement by the Insurance Reserve Fund.  (Charleston S.C. Post and Courier, Dec 22, 2019 – Fleming Smith)

In South Carolina, the total paid out for claims only for false arrest by the Insurance Reserve Fund for 2nd QTR, 2022:  $2,252,705.00.  28 claims averaged $80,454.00 each.  The average time for resolution and payout was over 3 years, with some taking 6, 7, 8 & 9 years.

In South Carolina, the total paid out for all claims against law enforcement by the Insurance Reserve Fund for 1st QTR, 2024:  $9,240,254.00. 

In South Carolina, the total paid out for claims only for false arrest by the Insurance Reserve Fund for FY 2024 - $3,865,200.00.

Data compiled nationally from just 25 police and sheriff’s departments, show over 40,000 payouts were made in the last 10 years amounting to over $3.2 BILLION dollars, and this excludes any payments of less than $1,000.00.  (Washington Post, Keith L. Alexander, Steven Rich and Hannah Thacker, March 9, 2022)

In a March 9^th, 2022 report by the Washington Post, it was revealed that one officer on the Detroit P.D. was responsible for 10 claims amounting to over $665,000.00 over a ten year period.  Through an extensive investigation, they also found over 7,600 officers nationwide had been responsible for more than one payout from their department. 

Additionally, they found more than 1,200 officers had been the subject of at least 5 payouts and more than 200 had 10 payouts or more.  (https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/police-misconduct-repeated-settlements/)

 

A few bad officers on any department can cause a large organization to have a bad name, even if the department has an outstanding record of professional conduct and service to the public.

In March 2024, there were 1,588 new civil rights filings in federal courts, marking a 4.5% increase from the 1,520 cases filed in February 2024.

Although insurance payments are paid out mostly by insurance cooperatives or group insurance by state or counties, we must remember, the money paid out is from taxes collected by the state, counties or cities.  This is tax money from residents that could be used to increase police budgets or it could be used to reduce the amount of taxes.

What we can’t find out, is who was responsible for the illegal arrests, the brutality claims, civil rights claims, cruel & unusual claims, due process claims, failure to provide medical care, negligent supervision and a few other claims such as sexual assault, shooting and parole.

If we can’t find out, there is no way to know if the officer(s) were held accountable or not.  This is what looks bad for officers and their departments.  Remember, bad publicity is not insurable.

This brings up one of the first questions:  If an officer is reprimanded or punished, should the person making the complaint and/or the public be informed of the outcome of the complaint?  Many departments may say “We’ve taken care of the complaint,” or “The officer has been disciplined” without saying how it was taken care of or how officer was disciplined.  Is this the way it should be?  Does the public have a right to know (transparency) if it has police officers that have violated the law, police procedures or policies?   Does a person who was the subject of the violation(s) have a right to know?

Police officers in their normal course of duty will most likely at some time in their career receive a complaint from a person who wants to “get back” at the officer for some reason, wants to injure their reputation or wants to be able to get out of an arrest by offering to drop the complaint if the D.A. drops the charges. Any complaint, if not valid, can cause the officer to lose credibility, time on the job, promotional status, and injury to their personal integrity and reputation and we can’t let this happen.

I, personally, have had false complaints lodged against me, even a couple of lawsuits.  One resulted in a trial in a Superior Court which was dismissed by the court after I testified for hours and the other was settled by the insurance company without my knowledge.  I found out about it in the local newspaper, which was totally unprofessional.  Upon questioning, the insurance company had total control of the settlement and settled as they said it would be cheaper than going to trial.  All the complaints against me were dismissed, they were totally bogus.

If we are going to hold police officers to a higher standard, then we must also hold the public to a standard that doesn’t make officers worry about false reports that may affect their occupation and their reputation.

But the answers to police reform MUST come from police officers, not the academics, bureaucrats, desk jockeys or the public who doesn’t know a thing about policing. It must come from you, me and our brother officers in the business of policing. 

This podcast is where it starts and I hope over time we can discuss a multitude of items and accomplish this task and come up with hard and fast suggestions that can be implemented.

Meanwhile,please go to our website, RealPoliceReform.com and join our community.  We are just starting this journey and we’d be pleased to have you join us.  If you comment, please tell us which state and department you are with or retired from.

Thankyou!

 

 

7 min