Failure to intervene investigations

Federal courts recognize that an officer who is present while another officer violates someone's constitutional rights may be liable for failing to intervene, if the officer knew what was happening and had a realistic opportunity to prevent it. These claims depend on precise facts about who was where, and for how long.

What an investigation looks for

• Every officer present, identified from dispatch records, reports, and video
• Where each officer stood and what each could see and hear
• How long the conduct lasted, and whether there was time to act
• What each officer reported afterward, and what each left out

How these cases are investigated

In failure to intervene cases, the work most often involves video and digital evidence recovery, scene investigation, public records requests, and officer and agency background research. What a particular case needs depends on what evidence already exists and what is at risk of being lost.

Nationwide, and civil rights only

Evidence in failure to intervene cases is lost quickly. Video is overwritten, records are purged, and witnesses move on. Civil Rights PI accepts these investigations nationwide, and the earlier the work begins, the more there is to find.