Psychological Injuries: A Police Remedy in Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress
| Published date | 01 July 1982 |
| Date | 01 July 1982 |
| Author | Charles Nemeth |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8205500308 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
CHARLES NEMETH
Assistant Professor, Department
of
Criminal
Justice, Niagara University, New York.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES: A
POLICE
REMEDY
IN
INTENTIONAL
INFLICTION
OF
MENTAL
DISTRESS
Scope
of
the Problem
The level of occupational stress in law enforcement careers is well
documented.' The functions and demands of police work generally
influence the emotional well-being of all its participants" even those
with strong, insular personalities. To say that such a result is simply
part of the
job
will no longer suffice.Police work is not only ajob, it is
avocation, a profession, and an honourable undertaking in which
men and women of considerable education and training are
becoming the standard rather than the exception. Hence, there is a
rise in personal and professional expectations, a feeling that not only
is the work of police highly respectable, but so too, the persons in
uniform.? Instead of being the doormats of a select, marauding,
insolent citizenry, police now demand, and rightfully so, respect for
their individualism, for their inner beings, their minds and emotional
security. Police are no longer sitting still for the chronic mental and
physical abuse subjected upon them in their daily routines; they are
now, and will even more so in the future be, fighting back. This
project will endeavour to explain afrequently overlooked remedy
available to the law enforcement officer - that of a civil suit for
damages for the infliction of mental distress.
Considering the civil suit as a remedy for any damages incurred in
law enforcement activity has not been a common plan of action.
"American law enforcement personnel have not generally attempted
to utilize the civil courts as a source of redress for the wrongs done to
them. While a certain number of civil suits have been brought over
the years by police officers for
job
related injuries, the number of
actions filed is microscopic in comparison to the number of injuries
suffered."3 The cause of this dilemma rests in many factors, ranging
from other remedies such as insurance or workmen's compensation,
official or public discouragement, costs involved, to lack of
awareness. This paper will hopefully cure the last of the factors, the
ignorance of or lack ofawareness in one of our modern tort remedies.
True, police must serve the rights of others, but police must also
recognize that they are citizens with inherent rights. Charles Friend,
244 July 1982
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