Constitutional Accountability Act

The Constitutional Accountability Act would recognize that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies should have the same civil liability for officer misconduct that private employers have for their employees under the long-established legal doctrine, respondeat superior. The legislation would extend liability for constitutional violations by officers to the departments that employ those officers and can change hiring, training, supervision, discipline, and culture to prevent misconduct that risks the safety of both officers and the communities they serve. Currently, municipal defendants are not subject to respondeat superior liability for the constitutional torts of their officers, cities may only be held liable when the plaintiff can show that the violation was the result of a municipal policy or custom, and States cannot be held liable at all. If enacted, this bill would change those rules, potentially making it easier for citizens to sue government agencies for constitutional violations by law enforcement and creating financial incentives for departments to improve training, supervision, and accountability practices.