Xjyuk

My car was towed in Seattle for an alleged parking violation.
I paid $350 to get it back and then went to court and had the
violation dismissed. The police officer who wrote the ticket
and called for the tow did not show up for the court hearing,
there was no evidence of a violation, and I testified that I
was careful to park legally (and indeed I was conscious of the
"No Parking" sign referring to one spot about 50 feet away from
where I parked). So, I believe the officer made some mistake.

Now, I'd rather not sue the government to get my $350 back
(you could simply say that I prefer not to have tax-payers,
including myself, pay for it), so intend to serve and sue the
officer directly. I know where to find him and actually
will first give him a demand note to pay me the $350, but I
assume that note will get me nothing.

So, what's the most likely result of my approach? Is there
precedent for taking an officer to court for a small claims
case like this? Am I likely to have the case dismissed and
be forced to refile against SPD?

(Please don't let this distract from my question, but my philosophy
is that people hide behind groups/governments/companies too often,
and I'd like to push society to take more personal responsibility
for their own actions. I have no problem with the police, my
problem is that one guy made a very careless mistake. I feel like
he won't see the consequences for his actions if I make my case
against the entire SPD. Whether it's to reduce taxes or to push
my philosophy, I know I'm struggling here just for a Pyrrhic
victory...so I'm 99% sure I will simply abandon this and sue SPD in
the end.)

Even if you had grounds for a lawsuit, you could not make it come out of the officer’s pocket. Under Chapter 4.64 of the Seattle Code, the City of Seattle is generally required to defend and indemnify city employees who are sued for doing their job. If you sue a police officer, the city pays his lawyer; if you win or if the city decides your claim is legitimate, the city pays whatever damages there were. The provision does not cover “claims and/or litigation arising from any dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious acts or omissions of officers or employees of the City,” but that requires a lot more than “I wasn’t parked illegally,” and in any event you cannot force that issue -— only the city can. That’s between the officer and the city, and has nothing to do with you.

This provision is pretty common in employment, including government employment. If I’m working for you and am acting in good faith, doing things for your benefit under your instructions, it’s only fair for you to shoulder the costs if I mess up. When it comes to government employees (whose job often makes people very angry at them), indemnification is extremely common. If police officers faced the risk of financial ruin for innocent mistakes, it’d be very hard to find anyone willing to do the job.

No, you can not sue him for this. A police officer has to have done something wrong for you to sue, not just his job.

I know you are saying the ticket was not warranted, but even if you are right, he can say he made a mistake and thought you were too far over and he is in the clear unless you can show he intentionally gave you a ticket when it wasn't deserved.

This article explains how and why an officer is normally immune from lawsuits.
https://law.freeadvice.com/government_law/civil_rights_law_ada/false-arrest-lawsuit.htm

You could sue the officer. You could even make it a federal suit under Section 1983 (see the text of the law). However, to prevail, you would have to show that the officer knew that you were doing nothing illegal, or that any reasonable officer would have known this. If a reasonable, even an ordinarily careless, officer might well have believed that you were parked illegally, you will probably lose.

You would also have to show that your right was "well established" to defeat the qualified immunity that police officers generally have.

As to your larger goal, you should know that in many localities, even if you bring such a suit and win, the municipality, or the police union, may well reimburse the officer. So the burden may fall on the taxpayers in any case, whatever you do.

You could complain to the department. They might chose to impose some penalty on the officer. But they might well do nothing at all. In many localities you would not even be informed of the result.

If you sue the department as a whole, you may still need to establish at least the negligence of the officer who wrote the ticket. You may need to name the officer specifically. My understanding is that a sec 1983 suit must always name specific individuals. Suits under other laws follow different rules, and may vary by state or locality.