True or False: Qualified immunity completely eliminates all liability for police agencies.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Depends on the case
• D. Only in federal court

Answer: (B)

Qualified immunity protects individual officers from civil liability for actions taken in the line of duty, unless their conduct violated clearly established constitutional rights. It does not shield the police department or agency from liability. A department can be held responsible under a constitutional claim if a policy or custom of the agency caused the violation (the Monell principle). Additionally, even when an officer has qualified immunity, the agency can still face liability for separate problems like inadequate training, supervision, or negligent hiring that contribute to the violation. So, qualified immunity does not completely eliminate all liability for police agencies.