The History of Fucking Sue the Police

42 USC 1983, Section 1983 is a law passed in 1871 as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Congress was worried about racial violence in the South and recognized that the problem was not just about rogue actors like the KKK. In the late 1960s, the Supreme Court invented a concept called qualified immunity which shields government officials from being held liable when they are performing their duties.