Price

Three teen-age boys, two African-American and one white, brought a civil rights lawsuit in federal district court alleging that City of Torrance police officers illegally stopped their vehicle, conducted an illegal search of their car, and used excessive force in searching them, causing them bodily injury. They also alleged that the officers’ conduct resulted from racial bias. The jury found in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them $245,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants in the case, City of Torrance police officers Albert Kramer and Stephen D’Anjou, the City of Torrance, and the Torrance Police Chief, appeal the judgment below. We reverse the district court’s failure to dismiss the City of Torrance and the Torrance Police Chief from the action. We affirm the district court’s judgment in all other respects.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

To understand the events that follow, one needs to know a bit about the geography and demographics of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The principal city is the City of Los Angeles. There are a number of smaller communities, some incorporated, some unincorporated, that adjoin or even fall within the territory that comprises the…