Difference between revisions of "Complaints Concerning Police Conduct (5:V)"

Typical actions that are launched against peace officers include tort actions in assault, battery, false imprisonment, or malicious prosecution. This could be helpful to clients who have been mistreated or suffered monetary loss because of police misconduct. These actions may now be brought in Small Claims Court.   

When suing the police, the complainant would usually want to sue both the police officer and his or her employer (see ss 11 and 20 of the Police Act). For a municipal police force this is the municipality; for the RCMP it is the Minister of Justice of British Columbia.   

EXAMPLE: An action brought by a complainant named John Smith could read “John Smith vs City of Vancouver, Constable Jane Doe, and Constable Richard Roe.”If  the complaint is against a municipal police force, special limitation periods apply. The municipality must be informed by letter of intent  to sue within 60 days (NOTE: filing a police complaint does not constitute notifying the municipality), and the notice of  claim should be filed within 2 years (see Gringmuth v The Corporation of the District of North Vancouver,2002 BCCA 61). The regular Small Claims Court limitation periods apply if you are suing the RCMP or a private security guard. NOTE:               Even if a complainant  has  not  sent a letter  of  intent  to  the  municipal government,  the  municipal  government  should  still  be named  as  a  party. At trial, the claimant can argue they had a reasonable excuse for failing to deliver a letter of intent to the city, and that the municipality has not been prejudiced by the failure to write the letter.  

5-27NOTE:               Even if the 60 day limitation period has expired, a complainant should still send a letter of intent to the Clerk. If the municipality was provided with notice shortly after the 60 day period expired, it will be more difficult for them to argue that they were prejudiced by the failure to send the notice letter within 60 days. NOTE:               If a municipal government or Minister of Justice is willing to accept liability on behalf of its officers where liability is proven, they may ask that the individual officers’  names to be removed from the lawsuit. While there may be reasons to keep the individual officers on the lawsuit, if the court finds  they  were  left  on  unnecessarily,  costs  may  be  awarded  against  the client. Both  municipal  police  and  RCMP  officers  are  partially  immune  from  civil  liability  under subsection  21(2)  of  the Police  Act.  However,  paragraph  21(3)(a)  provides  that  this  defence does  not  apply  if  the  police  officer  has “been  guilty  of  dishonesty,  gross  negligence  or malicious  or  wilful  misconduct”.  In Ward  v  British  Columbia, 2010  SCC  27,  it  was  held  that intentional  torts  do not  qualify  as  wilful  misconduct  for  the  purposes  of  subparagraph 21(3)(a). As a result of this, it is even more important to make sure the case starts within 6 months.  Please  be  sure  to  read  the  paragraph  about  civil proceedings  if  the  client  is considering suing the police because special limitation periods apply. For detailed step-by-step information on suing the police (as well as private security guards), please  see  David  Eby  &  Emily  Rix, How  to  Sue  the  Police  and  Private  Security  in  Small  Claims Court (Vancouver: Pivot Legal Society, 2007).