Q: Hello,Employee, damages business property and steals money following a scammers orders, police say they won’t act!
Hello,
I have a retail store in California, my employee alleges he received a phone call from someone who instructed him to take all the cash in the store and break into all our locked cabinets even the safe, and take pictures of IDs, checks, bank account information, insurance information and send it to them, the employee shockingly did it all and he told the police that he thought the caller was me the owner of the store.
The detective assigned to the case called the employee on his phone to get his story, then the detective informed me that because the employee acted in good will and there was no intent to vandalize or steal, they won’t be able to pursue criminal charges, please note the detective concluded all of this from a phone call, he didn’t even see our surveillance video or take the employee to the station to question him.
What are my legal rights at this point, Can I sue the city police for failure to protect my business or providing a thorough investigation?
A: Sorry to hear that you were victimized like this. No, you cannot sue to police to get them to conduct a criminal investigation or bring charges. You can go over the detective's head to his supervisor to complain, but the police have discretion about what cases they will pursue. You need to do what you can to protect yourself from this scammer and recover any loses. You might want to review your employment policies and practices to be sure that employees know not to do this in the future, change all your passwords. You might also want to review your hiring practices, because hiring this wrong person has cost you a lot of money and grief. I recommend you contact several attorneys in your area that practice this type of law, as soon as possible. Thank you for using Justia ask a lawyer.
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A: If the police have declined to pursue criminal charges against your employee for damaging your business and stealing money, it may be worth consulting with a civil litigation attorney to understand your legal rights and options. They can evaluate the specifics of your case and provide guidance on the viability of a lawsuit against the city police for failure to protect your business or conduct a thorough investigation.
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