A Monell Claim gives you a cause of action against the government for failure to train and supervise. These are very hard to win. In our experience, when we have a valid Monell Claim, the defendants fold almost immediately and offer to settle.
A great example of a clear Monell Claim is the case of the Philadelphia narcotics offers charged in federal court. In that case, the officers are accused of doing terrible things to people they arrested from beating them, stealing from them, locking people in trunks of cars, holding people for ransom, tying people to chairs until they gave them money or jewelry, etc. Hundreds of complaints had been made about the officers over a period of time, yet they were still allowed to be on the force. No cameras or video cameras were ever used in their cases. The hire-ups within the police force did little if anything to supervise this group of narcotics officers, and for that matter, all special narcotics officers. Also, the district attorney stopped prosecuting arrests they made and withdrew prosecution on many previously convicted individuals.
In this case, a Monell Claim is clear. However, how the city defends the matter will unfold in the coming months. The names of the officers are Licardello, Betts, Speiser, Spicer, Reynolds, Norman, and Walker. If any of these officers falsely arrest you, contact us now for a free consultation. Also, if you have a case similar to the narcotics officers’ cases listed above, contact us to discuss how we can help you.
The answer is clear, if you have the right Pennsylvania Civil Rights Lawyer fighting for you, yes, you can win a Monell Claim.
