Monthly Law Journal Article: Civil Liability for Acts of Off-Duty Officers -- Part One, 2007 (9) AELE Mo. L.J. 101.
     Monthly Law Journal Article: Civil Liability for Acts of Off-Duty Officers -- Part Two, 2007 (10) AELE Mo. L.J. 101.
     A bar customer sued off-duty officers who allegedly assaulted him or assisted assaulting him on the premises, other bystander officers who allegedly improperly failed to intervene, and the city that employed the officers. There were no facts suggesting, for purposes of federal civil rights claims, that the off-duty officers abused or misused their official powers, as they were there off-duty drinking, were not in uniform, did not use departmental weapons, and did not assert police authority. There was no constitutional duty for the bystander officers to prevent the alleged assaults by the off-duty officers, so the claims against them failed also. Since no constitutional violations were proven, the city also could not be held liable. Bustos v. Martini Club Incorporated, #09-50079, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 4739 (5th Cir.).
     Plaintiffs failed to adequately show that either the city or a former deputy chief of police were liable for the off-duty conduct of officers who they claimed physically assaulted them in a dispute over a bag of steak fajitas. The plaintiff failed to establish liability either on the basis of a purported policy or custom of inadequate disciplinary procedures, or the role of the former deputy chief of police as a supervisor at the time of the incident. Summary judgment for the city and former deputy chief was upheld.  Snyder v. City and County of San Francisco, No. 06-15838, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 15710 (Unpub. 9th Cir.).
     Police officer who claimed that off-duty officers assaulted him failed to show that they were acting under color of law at the time of the incident. Additionally, a disinterested witness's version of the incident was more consistent with the defendants' versions of the event than with the plaintiff's version. Begley v. County of Kauai, No. 06-15801, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 14953 (Unpub. 9th Cir.).
     Off-duty deputy sheriff was not entitled to qualified immunity on woman's claim that he violated her rights and used excessive force against her by grabbing her without provocation, and then tossed her down the stairs after they engaged in an argument following a movie that they both separately attended. The deputy was allegedly upset about the woman's talking during the film, and had told her to "shut up" and made a racial slur about her Hispanic background. The appeals court found that it was without jurisdiction to hear the deputy's appeal of the trial court denial of his motion for qualified immunity, since he relied on his (disputed) version of the facts, rather than on a legal argument. Arnold v. Curtis, No. 06-4080, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 18509 (10th Cir.).
      Under Alabama state law, a bar could be found vicariously liable for an off-duty police officer's alleged assault and battery of a patron while working as a security guard. The court further ruled that, regardless of whether or not the off-duty officer was ultimately found to have been acting as a security guard, rather than a police officer at the time of the incident, this did not deprive the federal trial court of jurisdiction over federal civil rights claims in the case, or of jurisdiction to rule on the state law claims which were supplemental to the federal claims. Ortega v. Brock, No.2:07cv368, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 57532 (M.D. Ala.).
    Off-duty, non-uniformed jail commander acted under color of law while allegedly beating motorist who rear-ended his pickup truck when he asserted his law enforcement authority by saying he was "a cop" in order to prevent bystanders from interfering with his assault. Anderson v. Warner, No. 04-15505, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 15996 (9th Cir. June 26, 2006). [2006 LR Aug]