By law, do police officers HAVE to file a report regarding an accident?
No. Many collisions are non-reportable. Officers are only required to complete reports under specific conditions. The reason officers are not required to complete a report on every single collision is that this is a very time consuming chore – and departments are usually undermanned and overworked. The motive is to get officers moving to the next call as quickly as possible. Be really careful about filing a complaint – the officer can sue you if you are dishonest in any way. Officers aren’t required to fill out a report on every collision. It sounds as though the officer who investigated your collision wasn’t required by his department to fill out a report. Your complaint should NOT be against the officer. It sounds as though he did his job – and frankly, the fact that he cited the other driver gives you all of the ammunition you really need in your lawsuit. Your complaint is with the police department and the fact that it does not require a report on every collision.
