The police are supposed to protect and serve the public, but in some cases, they treat the public unjustly and even use unnecessary violence.
If you have been falsely arrested, wrongly intruded on in your home, or injured during a violent encounter with law enforcement in Pennsylvania, you might be wondering, “Can I sue the police for emotional distress?”
Depending on the circumstances, you may have a claim under a legal theory of negligent infliction of emotional distress or intentional infliction of emotional distress. But to win your emotional distress case, you will need to show that the police engaged in extreme or outrageous conduct that a reasonable officer would recognize as likely to cause mental anguish and psychological harm.
What Police Conduct Can Lead to an Emotional Distress Claim?
You may be wondering, “Can you sue a police officer for emotional distress?” Here are some situations in which you might have an emotional distress claim against a police officer or the police department:
- Excessive force – The police’s use of unlawful and unjustified force against a person can lead to a traumatic experience that causes severe emotional harm.
- False arrest or unlawful detention – An arrest and detention without probable cause can cause significant emotional trauma for an individual.
- Racial profiling or discrimination – A person may experience emotional distress after encounters with law enforcement officers who investigate, detain, or arrest a person based on suspicions motivated by the person’s race, color, or national origin.
- Harassment or intimidation – Police officers can cause people to experience severe emotional distress through harassing or intimidating conduct, such as threatening arrests without a lawful basis or surveilling a person outside of a legitimate criminal investigation.
- Retaliation – A person may suffer serious psychological harm when they become the victim of retaliatory acts by police after reporting misconduct by officers or protesting police actions.
An emotional distress claim against a police department in Pennsylvania must follow the rules and restrictions of the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act. The act outlines the types of claims for which local agencies have waived their governmental or official immunity, including injury claims available under the common law. The act also limits the total compensation available from a state or local law enforcement agency or government.
How Do You Prove Emotional Distress After a Police Encounter?
To win your emotional distress lawsuit, you will need to show either that officers committed a negligent, reckless, or malicious act and that the officers’ outrageous conduct caused you emotional trauma, or that the officers should have foreseen that their conduct would traumatize you and cause emotional injuries. Proving that may require evidence such as:
- Bodycam or dashcam videos
- Incident reports
- Surveillance footage
- Video recordings taken by bystanders
- Eyewitness statements
- Law enforcement investigation reports
- Medical records for treatment and rehabilitation of physical injuries caused by misconduct
- Mental health treatment records for emotional distress and psychological injuries
- Reports and testimony from law enforcement experts regarding appropriate conduct and procedures by police officers and departments
Contact us today for a free case review with an experienced attorney at The Zeiger Firm to discuss whether you may have a claim for emotional distress against the police department. Our law firm offers aggressive, experienced legal representation to help you seek justice and financial recovery by suing the police department for emotional distress.
