A police officers' failure to investigate does not rise to a federal civil rights violation.

The plaintiff alleged that his civil rights were violated pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when he was deliberately shot after he had surrendered to police. According to the plaintiff, an officer to whom he complained about the shooting failed to investigate his allegations, and he maintained that this was a violation of his civil rights. United States District Judge Cooper in Trenton, New Jersey, determined that such a claim is not a viable cause of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2011