Are you the victim of police misconduct or excessive force at the hands of law enforcement personnel and police officers? Our police misconduct attorneys can help.
Police misconduct can take a variety of different forms, including
If you are a misconduct victim, you and your family members deserve dedicated legal representation for your pain and misfortune.
Misconduct cases usually involve civil lawsuits based on civil rights violations. When police violate your civil rights, you may be entitled to a remedy. That remedy may include:
- criminal prosecution of the offending officer,
- a civil rights lawsuit demanding an injunction and/or monetary damages,
- a Bivens claim demanding monetary damages, and/or
- the filing of an internal affairs complaint with the police department.
A police misconduct attorney plays a critical role in these cases. A lawyer can help you by:
- making sure you receive immediate medical care,
- managing your ongoing medical treatment,
- advising you of your legal rights and options,
- filing an injunction to try and stop inappropriate police acts,
- working to get any evidence of a criminal charge dismissed, and
- filing a lawsuit on your behalf.
The Shouse Law Group is a California-based law firm that represents victims in police brutality and police misconduct cases. Our experienced lawyers work tirelessly for all our clients and seek to get you the biggest settlement possible. Call today to get the legal representation you deserve.
Police misconduct can take a variety of different forms, like unlawful detention, false arrest, and racial profiling.
What are common forms of police misconduct?
Police misconduct refers to inappropriate or illegal behavior by police departments and law enforcement officers in their official capacity. Specific acts of misconduct can take a variety of different forms.
Some of the most common include:
- unlawful detention,1
- false imprisonment or arrest,
- the use of excessive force (including the over-aggressive use of tasers, pepper spray, and nightsticks),2
- relying on racial profiling,3
- conducting illegal searches and seizures,
- using unjustified deadly force (especially with guns), and
- committing perjury.
Other types of misconduct include:
- intimidation and verbal abuse to the point of harassment
- violent threats
- forced or coerced confessions
- falsifying evidence
- sexual assault/rape and sexual abuse
- abusing inmates
Misconduct by law enforcement agencies typically results in a civil rights violation or a violation of a person’s constitutional rights. Civil rights come from federal law or the U.S. Constitution.
Some of the most common rights that are violated in police misconduct cases are:
- the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures,
- the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments,
- the right to due process before being deprived of life, liberty, or property,
- freedom of speech,
- police intervention without probable cause,4 and
- the right to privacy.
Who can I bring a case against?
A Los Angeles police misconduct attorney, or a California civil rights attorney, normally files a police misconduct lawsuit against:
- police officers,
- county sheriffs, and/or
- officers at law enforcement agencies, like the DEA or ICE.
A lawsuit can help deliver certain remedies to you as a misconduct victim.
Remedies include:
- the filing of an official complaint with the police department,
- a court excluding evidence from a criminal case, and
- a civil rights lawsuit through Section 1983 or a Bivens claim,
In some cases, pursuing these remedies can lead to a criminal case against the cop.
With regards to Section 1983 claims, these claims hold actors liable for civil rights violations done under the color of law. Section 1983 lawsuits can produce the following remedies:
- an injunction or court order designed to keep specific misconduct from happening again, and/or
- monetary damages.
The monetary damages from a Section 1983 claim can include:
- compensatory damages to compensate you for your losses,
- punitive damages to punish the police officer, and
- presumed damages to compensate you for the loss of liberty from your violated rights.
An attorney can assist you in many ways.
What is the role of a personal injury or civil rights attorney in a police misconduct case?
Attorneys can assist you, as a victim of police misconduct, in a variety of invaluable ways.
For example, a lawyer interviews you to assess your medical needs and learn the facts of a case. An attorney can then
- help you receive immediate medical attention and
- manage your ongoing medical care.
Once you receive appropriate medical treatment, a civil rights attorney will advise you of your legal rights and options.
If applicable, the lawyer can take legal action by filing a lawsuit against any liable
- police officers or
- police departments.
The attorney can then work to gather evidence on behalf of you to help establish liability. If necessary, an attorney can hire an expert to help explain this evidence to
- a judge or
- a jury.
Note that many police misconduct cases draw significant media attention. A skilled police misconduct attorney can step in and answer media questions on your behalf.
What are the benefits of a police misconduct lawyer?
Misconduct lawyers deliver a host of benefits to police misconduct victims.
For starters, if a criminal case gets charged against you, an attorney can work to get certain evidence excluded from the case. Exclusion could result in your charges getting reduced or even dismissed in their entirety.
Civil rights attorneys can also work to file injunctions to stop certain unfair police acts and practices. The injunctions from successful misconduct claims can lead to significant changes in police department protocol. For example, they can force departments to:
- retrain officers,
- revise their official way of doing things,
- review internal customs, and
- fire offending police officers.
If there is a possibility for you to receive monetary damages, an attorney can help you maximize your compensation. Skilled attorneys will not back down from liable parties and will refuse any lowball settlement offers. They also know how to find hidden value in a case to increase your payout.
Note that almost all personal injury lawyers and civil rights attorneys provide free case evaluations. This means you can get all of your legal questions answered without spending a dime.
Note, too, that the communications between a lawyer and you are protected by the attorney-client relationship. A result is that a lawyer cannot disclose these communications without first getting your consent.
Additional reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- The Effect of Sanctions on Police Misconduct – Crime & Delinquency.
- Police Misconduct as a Cause of Wrongful Convictions – Washington University Law Review.
- Prosecuting Police Misconduct – Wisconsin Law Review.
- The Death of George Floyd, the Trial of Derek Chauvin, and Deadly-Force Encounters with Police: Have We Finally Reached an Inflection Point? Or Will the Cycle of Inaction Continue? – The Georgetown Law Journal Annual Review of Criminal Procedure.
- Organizational Justice and Police Misconduct – Criminal Justice and Behavior.
Legal References:
- See, for example, Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968); and, Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (2005).
- See, for example, Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989); and, Hernandez v. City of Pomona, 207 P.3d 506 (Cal. 2009).
- See, for example, Floyd v. City of New York, 959 F.Supp.2d 540 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).
- See, for example, Cervantez v. J.C. Penney Co., 595 P.2d 975 (Cal. 1979).