Policewoman Sues Man Who Called 999

Andy90 said:
As someone who has tripped over a kerb , fallen over steel chains draped across driveways and punctured his hand with barbed wire climbing over walls to investigate break in etc., I certainly don't think her case has any merit. It is all part of the job.

That said a few things need clearing up.

Firstly does anyone actually know this Officer? Has anyone actually followed her in the course of her duty to see exactly how good or indeed bad she may be? No I thought not. The name calling isn't appropriate, calling her stupid, fat, a bint etc. is rather pathetic - young angry alpha males anyone? I think some people need to look inward at themselves before throwing stones at others.

Now as I said I think the case is without merit, she needs to take a step backwards (hopefully she will not trip over this time) and think about her actions. The question she needs to ask herself is "could this have happened to me if I had been walking along normally?" The answer is yes, she could have tripped over a kerbstone at the side of the road. I doubt if the garage owner could be classed as negligent in any way.

Next thing I want to cover is the belief by a few within this thread that the taxpayer is paying for all this stupidity. No they're not.

Each Officer who wishes to can be a member of the Police Federation of England and Wales. If they are then a subscription of £21.58 is paid each month. Think of it as a little bit like a Union subscription. The money pays for the Federation Officers in Leatherhead, Publications issued by the Police Federation etc.

One of the things it pays for is a fund to take up legal cases of behalf of Officers. She will be aware of this and has submitted a case to the Federation. The Federation Officers have no option but to refer the claim to the Solicitors employed to represent them. It doesn't matter if they case has merit or not, they have to forward it by the terms of the Federation rules. This is where it gets into the hands of Solicitors and they're the ones who should be advising her if the case has merit or not.

Someone else also mentioned about Employers Insurance covering it. Well the Police Force will cover its employees whilst in their buildings or land or to cover Officers whilst legally carrying out their powers, but did you know that each Police Officer has to pay their own group Insurance to cover things like Personal injury sustained to themselves / life cover etc? Thought not, mines currently £25 a month.

I actually feel quite sorry for the Garage owner, since in the face of it he has done nothing negligent, however to suggest that Police Officers cannot sue isn't right - they have the same rights as anyone else if someone has done something negligent. I just think that this case is typical of our sue everyone culture that has grown over the last 30 years. A sad indictment of society as a whole.
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Balanced and agreeable response. However anybody doing any job when they take on a specific role takes on responsibilities which are not necessarily relevant to a private individual being in their capacity as a private individual. In my role at work (Financial Services) I could disclose certain information which would but be in breach of various laws and regulations which could ultimatley lead to a criminal conviction. An individual not employed in my capacity could disclose the same information but it would not be a breach as as being in the capacity of a private individual the legislation does not cover them.

I fail to understand how you can claim that a police officer in the capacity of their role can possibly sue anybody for negligence. As by definition the majority of the situations a police officer find themselves imply that somebody has been negligent.

Are you saying that if as a police officer you were injured in a confrontation with a thug, that you should have the capacity to sue them?

Hhmm after typing this out maybe you should have the cacapcity to sue them. But what would be the implications of that, would that mean we would all have to have personal liability insurance? And what about the armed forces?

Surely police officers are compenstated by the tax payer should they be injured in the course of their duties?
 
Burnsy2023 said:
That may be a bit much. She's been stupid, no doubt, but I don't think she should lose her job over it.
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I agree that she should not lose her job over a poorly reasoned attempt to sue the garage owner.

She should lose her job for making it abundantly clear that she is unfit to be a police officer. I appreciate that few people want to join the force, but lowering standards so far seems counter-productive.
 
Andy90 said:
The name calling isn't appropriate, calling her stupid, fat, a bint etc. is rather pathetic - young angry alpha males anyone? I think some people need to look inward at themselves before throwing stones at others.
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Pot kettle? However... I do agree, the name calling isn't called for.

I actually feel quite sorry for the Garage owner, since in the face of it he has done nothing negligent, however to suggest that Police Officers cannot sue isn't right - they have the same rights as anyone else if someone has done something negligent. I just think that this case is typical of our sue everyone culture that has grown over the last 30 years. A sad indictment of society as a whole.[/QUOTE]

You've contradicted your point... He has done nothing negligent yet you suggest she should be able to sue? That can't be right can it?

If a police officer was chasing a criminal down a dark ally way and they trip over something... maybe the paving is slightly uneven... will they, or should they be able to sue the council? This is going to open up a can of worms if she does indeed win the case.

I hope she doesn't win as I think that is the risk you take when being a police officer. You have to accept you will be going into the big bad world and might be injured in the line of duty (much like those in the Army).
 
JonJ678 said:
I agree that she should not lose her job over a poorly reasoned attempt to sue the garage owner.

She should lose her job for making it abundantly clear that she is unfit to be a police officer. I appreciate that few people want to join the force, but lowering standards so far seems counter-productive.
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Indeed, we should hold the police to much higher standards than the average pleb, it's keeping people like this woman in the force that gives them such a bad reputation and a general lack of trust among the populace. The police are supposed to set an example to the rest of us.
 
dazzerd said:
Are you saying that if as a police officer you were injured in a confrontation with a thug, that you should have the capacity to sue them?
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Of course they should... I guess in most cases its not worth while but if some rich gangster type causes serious injury to a police officer I can't see why they shouldn't also pursue a personal civil suit.

The question is just whether its reasonable given the circumstances... if someone set a trip wire or cements bits of broken glass on their wall (with no warnings) and an injury occurred on their property as a result then I could see the reasoning behind pursuing damaged. Tripping over a kerb (which isn't loose/is in working order) isn't reasonable IMHO.
 
dazzerd said:
I fail to understand how you can claim that a police officer in the capacity of their role can possibly sue anybody for negligence. As by definition the majority of the situations a police officer find themselves imply that somebody has been negligent.

Are you saying that if as a police officer you were injured in a confrontation with a thug, that you should have the capacity to sue them?

Hhmm after typing this out maybe you should have the cacapcity to sue them. But what would be the implications of that, would that mean we would all have to have personal liability insurance? And what about the armed forces?

Surely police officers are compenstated by the tax payer should they be injured in the course of their duties?
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Police Officers are no different to any other person in the UK. If someone has done something negligent and it injures a person then they are potentially liable.

Police Officers aren't compensated by the tax payer if they are injured in the course of their duty.

As I said we have to take our own Insurance out - the tax payer doesn't pay for it.

If we are injured to the extent that it is a lasting or nasty injury we can apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authrority - again this is the same as any other member of the public. We can also be awarded compensation through the courts if a criminal charge is successfully prosecuted, however any award through the court normally reduces any claim under CICA. (this is again the same as any other member of the public).

If an Officer is injured to the extent that it prevents them from carrying out their duties then they can be eligible for early retirement on a pension dependant on the length of service.
 
sbi5ar said:
Pot kettle? However... I do agree, the name calling isn't called for.

I actually feel quite sorry for the Garage owner, since in the face of it he has done nothing negligent, however to suggest that Police Officers cannot sue isn't right - they have the same rights as anyone else if someone has done something negligent. I just think that this case is typical of our sue everyone culture that has grown over the last 30 years. A sad indictment of society as a whole.
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It was a rhetorical question. The name calling does tend to be symptomatic of a certain type of poster, if it doesn't apply to you then fair enough.

Reading comprehension - I said that I felt sorry for the garage owner since he seems not to have done anything wrong. I then said that suggesting Police Officers cannot sue isn't right. They are two different points, stating one doesn't contradict the other. It is the right of any person (including Police Officers) to instruct a Solicitor to take legal action if they are injured as a result of negligence.

As regards the running down the alleyway and falling over scenario, I would think it would be highly unlikely that a Police Officer would sue. However let me put this to you. If the Officer was running down the alleyway and there was a 6' hole that had been dug by the Council which was unlit and unfenced with no warning signs and the Officer fell down it breaking both legs, would it be right that they had no right to sue someone? It all depends on the circumstances.
 
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mmj_uk said:
Indeed, we should hold the police to much higher standards than the average pleb, it's keeping people like this woman in the force that gives them such a bad reputation and a general lack of trust among the populace. The police are supposed to set an example to the rest of us.
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Police Officers quite rightly should be held to a higher account when the break the law or the rules.

We aren't here to set examples to you. We're here to uphold the law, prosecute offenders and trying to keep people safe.

The vast majority of us don't break the rules and don't break the law, if by that we're seen as an example then fair enough, but please don't make us out to be something we're not - we're not supermen or women, we're the same as you with all the same human failings, stresses and strains.

Respect is earned by each encounter with anyone, whether or not it is a Police Officer or not. It should not be automatically given, but earned.

By the way, I'm not a pleb and neither should you be considering yourself one either :)
 
I don't get it. You join the police knowing you're going into a potentially quite dangerous job. I've been injured a few times but wouldn't dream of suing someone for it. To me it's just part of the job.
 
Freakbro said:
What about a scrote then? As the local Chief Inspector told me in conversation that they call the local 'undesirables' :p
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I think if I had to deal with those sorts of people for a living I'd call them plebs/scrotes too.

The majority of their time is spent dealing with the same small subset of society...
 
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