Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Police destroying my home and property

My husband is on probation. The Drug Task Force searched my home with 10 Officers for 5 hours. They found paraphenalia. They did thousands of dollars of damage to my home and property. I filed a claim against the city. I received a letter from the Acting City Attorney. It said ''The City is immune from liability under Government Code section 821.6 for any property damage that occurred as a result of a search pursuant to a search warrant or probation search.'' Does this mean that the Police can destroy my property without any accountability? And does it matter whether or not anything illegal was found? I did some research, and there's a lot of controversy over whether or not this code applies to police searches. Please let me know what I can do. By the way, the Senior Drug Task Force Officer said that if he or any of his team did any damage during the search, just let him know and we would be compensated. Why would he say that if the police weren't really liable?


Asked on 3/10/09, 2:32 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Solomon Chang Law Office of Solomon Chang

Re: Police destroying my home and property

Good Afternoon,

Its true that Government Code section 821.6 does offer peace officers a great deal of civil immunity. However, as you noted in your question, the code section is not exactly black and white.

There is case law which places restrictions on the government's police power. For example, they must be acting reasonably within the scope of their duties.

Whether the exceptions will apply ultimately turn on the specific facts of your case. I would recommend meeting with an attorney knowledgeable in this area of law to discuss the facts of your case.

Sincerely,

Solomon Chang

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Answered on 3/10/09, 7:10 pm


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