Who can be held liable for civil suits following an OIS?

In the context of an Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS), both the officer and their agency can be held liable for civil suits due to the principles of vicarious liability and personal liability.

When an officer uses force in the line of duty, the officer may be personally held accountable for their actions if they acted outside the bounds of the law or department policy. This personal liability arises from the individual actions of the officer that may be deemed excessive or unreasonable under the circumstances of the situation.

At the same time, the agency that employs the officer can also be held liable for civil suits. This is based on the legal doctrine of vicarious liability, which holds that employers can be responsible for the actions of their employees if those actions occur within the scope of their employment. If the shooting is found to be justified and the agency provided the necessary training and policies, liability might be mitigated, but potential civil claims can still be made against the agency depending on various factors, such as policies in place on use of force, training adequacy, and whether the officer was following agency protocols.

In this scenario, the combination of personal liability for the officer's actions and vicarious liability for the agency creates a situation where both can be held accountable