Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I have a friend who is a police officer in a major metropolitan city. He has an impeccable record with the department and has received many awards for his accomplishments. The only blemish he has is ten years ago he was accused of a crime, investigated by internal affairs, and exonerated. It turns out the original complainant had lied and again, the officer was cleared of all charges. Now we arrive to the present. A fellow police officer who is either jealous or just plain evil is telling fellow officers and newly hired supervisors that my friend, the police officer, was investigated and should have been prosecuted on several counts and was even going to be prosecuted, which is absolutely false. The evil Officer is also spreading false rumors that my friend was promoted to a different station instead of being prosecuted because several felony counts were substantiated against him and the station chief wanted to get rid of him. The evil officer has even put these disparaging remarks in writing and sending them to different officers. My friend, the police officer, would like to promote further and even has to testify in court and remarks like these from a fellow officer could be detrimental to his career. My question is does my friend have a case for slander or libel in California against this evil police officer? Would it be worth hiring an attorney? My friend has several witnesses and even the letters sent by the evil officer where he makes these slanderous and/or libelous statements. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 8/20/09, 7:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Larry L. Doan Law Office of Larry L. Doan

Yes, I think there might be a strong case here for defamation consisting of both slander and libel. Apparently, this other officer's remarks and writings tend to directly injure your friend in respect to his occupation as a police officer by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects which being an officer requires. This is paraphrasing language from Civil Code section 46 which defines one kind of slander. You definitely should consult with a personal injury attorney who has experience in handling defamation law cases.

https://www.lawguru.com/cgi/bbs/attyPages/liem.html

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Answered on 8/21/09, 2:49 am


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