The United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (”DOJ”) enforces federal criminal civil rights statutes, including those laws that prohibit the willful use of excessive force or other acts of misconduct by law enforcement or other government officials.  In an October 26, 2009 DOJ Press Release found at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-crt-1153.html , the Civil Rights Division announced that a former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been sentenced on federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate.  According to the DOJ Press Release, the former corrections officer was sentenced to serve a term of life in prison, three years post-release supervision and 75 hours of community service.  A United States Attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “When correction officers make the corrupt choice to act as judge, jury and executioner, the United States will prosecute such actions aggressively, just as it did here.”  As stated in the Press Release, a federal jury in Orlando found the former correction officer guilty of two felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of a federal inmate.

In a September 22, 2009 Press Release, the U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (”OSHA”) Englewood Area Office announced that OSHA has cited to Texas companies with penalties of $59,000.00 and $38,750.00, respectively, for alleged violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act related to fall hazards disclosed at an Aurora, Colorado worksite.  The OSHA Regional News Release found at www.osha.gov or www.dol.gov states that OSHA’s investigation led to one alleged willful and two alleged serious citations against a Carrolton, Texas renovation company, and one alleged willful, two alleged serious and one alleged other-than-serious citations against a roofing company based out of Euless, Texas.  An OSHA Area Director quoted in the Press Release described fall hazards as the biggest killers in the construction industry, adding that OSHA will be stepping up its enforcement of fall hazards, especially in areas where OSHA expects to see an influx in roofing work.  As stated in the Press Release, the alleged willful violations stem from a lack of fall protection for workers performing roof work and failing to use fall protection while workers were being machine lifted to the roof.  In this regard, OSHA issues a willful citation when an employer exhibits plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.  In addition, OSHA issues a serious citation when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which an employer knew or should have known.

Whether fall hazard and fall protection violations, personal injury and death occur at construction jobsites in Texas or elsewhere, employees may contact OSHA regarding enforcement actions and complaints and consult an attorney to determine if a civil lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential OSHA violation claim.

In an August 17, 2009 Press Release at http://www.osha.gov , the U. S. Department of Labor (”DOL”) announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (”OSHA”) cited a Tyler, Texas based construction contractor with two alleged willful and 10 alleged serious violations following the electrocution of a Hispanic worker at the company’s worksite in Tyler.  According to the DOL OSHA Press Release, OSHA’s Dallas Area Office began its inspection on February 18th in Tyler where eight employees were upgrading underground energized power lines and pad-mounted transformers.  As stated in the Press Release, the employer damaged the underground power line while digging in front of a pad-mounted transformer.  OSHA contends that an Hispanic worker was unaware and uninformed that the power line was energized and was electrocuted.  In addition, OSHA claims its investigation revealed that the worker was wearing a glove with a hole in the index finger which had not been tested for insulation qualities.  An OSHA Director in Dallas was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “All workers, regardless of whether they speak English, deserve a safe workplace [and] had this company implemented the requirements in their own safety and health program this tragedy could have been avoided.”  In this regard, OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and OSHA defines a serious violation as one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.  Proposed penalties for the citation total $133,000.00.  Employers and employees with questions about workplace safety and health were referred in the Press Release to OSHA’s Dallas Area Office at 214-320-2400 and a toll free number at 1-800-321-6742.

Attorneys for an Austin family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against an Austin police officer and the City of Austin, alleging that racial discrimination and excessive force lead to a May 11 shooting in which a sleeping 18 year-old African-American youth was reportedly taken from a car and fatally shot.  See, Plohetski, Tony, “Sanders Family Sues Over Fatal Police Shooting,” Austin American-Statesman, 6/3/09, http://www.statesman.com .  According to the article, police have said that the officer had been investigating whether a Mercedes-Benz station wagon in which the youth was sleeping was linked to gunfire at an East Austin apartment complex when the officer fired after the youth allegedly reached for a weapon.  However, the civil rights lawsuit charges that the officer detained the driver at Walnut Creek Apartments, returned to the vehicle where the youth was sleeping, opened the backdoor, attempted to drag the sleeping teenager out of the car, overreacted, pulled out his gun and repeatedly shot the youth in the head and body.  In addition, the lawsuit claims that the City had practices in place at the time of the shooting that contributed to the alleged civil rights violation, including inadequate supervision of officers concerning use of force, the use of excessive deadly force against minorities and inadequate training of officers on how to approach sleeping subjects.

Whether allegedly unlawful police shootings or police abuse and discrimination occurs in Abilene, Amarillo, Austin or elsewhere, victims of police misconduct may make internal complaints to the officer’s employer and contact federal law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Justice, as well as an attorney or lawyer to determine if charges and an excessive force lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential civil rights violation claim.

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