Municipal Indemnification
Why the officer almost never pays — cities cover the tab for 99%+ of police misconduct judgments.
What It Is
Municipal indemnification means the city or county pays the judgment or settlement instead of the individual officer — even when the officer is sued in their individual capacity and even for conduct that was unconstitutional.
The Reality
Studies (including a landmark UCLA study by Joanna Schwartz) have found that individual officers personally pay approximately 0.02% of the dollars paid in police misconduct cases. Cities pick up the rest through:
- Indemnification statutes — State or local laws requiring the city to pay
- Collective bargaining agreements — Police union contracts mandating indemnification
- City policy — Administrative decisions to cover officers
- Insurance — Municipal liability insurance
Why It Matters
The entire theory of qualified immunity rests on the idea that officers need protection from personal financial liability so they can do their jobs without fear. But if officers almost never pay anyway, the justification for QI collapses.
Officers face no personal financial consequence for violating your rights. The city pays. The taxpayers pay. The officer’s paycheck continues.
The Exceptions
The rare cases where officers might pay personally:
- Punitive damages — Some jurisdictions don’t indemnify for punitive damages (though many do anyway)
- Criminal conduct — Some indemnification statutes exclude criminal acts
- Policy violations — Some cities refuse to indemnify officers who violated department policy (rare in practice)
- City refusal — The city can theoretically decline to indemnify (almost never happens)
Implications for Your Case
- Sue both — Individual officers for personal liability and the city under Monell. The city is more likely to actually pay.
- Don’t assume the officer is judgment-proof — Indemnification means there’s money behind the judgment even though you’re suing the individual.
- Use it in your narrative — “The city has paid [X amount] in police misconduct settlements in the last five years” supports your Monell custom-or-practice argument.