Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia
I am a police officer in Ga. Myself and other officers effected an arrest on a drug dealer where the drug dealer fought us and had to be physically subdued. He and us had some lacerations but he refused medical attention at the scene. His wife/girlfriend who was not at the scene at the time of the fight (but came afterwards) has complained to our local citizens review board that we used excessive force during the arrest. Because of this complaint we are being investigated by the CRB. Do we have a civil case against this family for malicious prosecution and if so how do we go about filing this suit.
3 Answers from Attorneys
If you want to get fired, try suing citizens that complain versus you. That is an awful idea and probably not actionable (as you know complaints to police are usually priviledged). If you attempt it during the investigation, most police forces would fire you for attempting to intimidate a witness (I'd suggest you delete your post here as it could be used against you). If it can be done, and that is not likely, you'd at least need a successful defense of the complaint versus yourself first.
You do need a good lawyer to defend yourself.
First, there is not a "prosecution" or even a civil action against you so the answer is no. Second, given that the purpose of the CRB is to review these incidents, the threat of a lawsuit for a citizen requesting the review is likely to backfire in a big way. Finally, even if there was a potential lawsuit, which is unlikely, you have asked us to tell you if it is a valid claim based on a couple sentences of one side of the story. That is not possible.
I would have to agree with the above analysis. I wish to add the following. To prevail on a claim of malicious prosecution, a plaintiff must demonstrate: "(1) prosecution for a criminal offense; (2) the prosecution instigated under a valid warrant, accusation, or summons; (3) termination of the prosecution in favor of the plaintiff; (4) malice; (5) want of probable cause; and (6) damage to the plaintiff." See also OCGA � 51-7-40. Right of action for malicious prosecution
A criminal prosecution which is carried on maliciously and without any probable cause and which causes damage to the person prosecuted shall give him a cause of action.
I question whether the Citizens' Review Board would be a prosecution - all they could do is refer this if your conduct was found to be unlwaful.
If it were me, I would let the investigation proceed and leave this be.