More U.S. Police Officers Buying Insurance In Case Of Lawsuits, Union Says

[Purveyor]

By Julia Edwards

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Law enforcement officers in the United States are increasingly buying professional liability insurance policies amid worries they may be sued for their on-duty actions, the Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest U.S. police union, told Reuters.

Between July 2014 and July 2015, the number of members who bought the union's liability insurance jumped 15 percent, according to data from the FOP released this week and shared exclusively with Reuters.

In previous years, liability insurance purchases grew only between one to three percent, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the FOP, which represents more than 330,000 officers.

The insurance would help cover legal fees, but would not protect against criminal prosecution.

The sharp jump comes amid a national debate over whether law enforcement should be under more surveillance and scrutiny, especially in light of a wave of publicized cases where deadly force was used against unarmed civilians, many of them minorities.

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http://news.yahoo.com/more-u-police-officers-buying-insurance-case-lawsuits-191924426--finance.html

[pennylane100]

1. All they would have to do is follow the rules

with rule no1 Stop killing unarmed people of color, then they would not need to waste their money.

[Hoppy]

2. Wear a body camera, don't act like an animal and you won't need insurance.

[PADemD]

3. They should all be required to purchase professional liability insurance.

Why should the taxpayer have to pay for any illegal behavior?

If a LEO is unable to purchase liability insurance because of too many lawsuits, that should make them unemployable in law enforcement.