If police officers violated your civil rights, you have the right to pursue legal claims against the responsible parties. Holding law enforcement accountable for constitutional violations is a key part of maintaining civil society. However, police misconduct and excessive force claims can involve complex facts and legal issues. To prove that police violated your civil rights, you will need considerable evidence and compelling legal arguments. Let The Zeiger Firm build a robust case to demand accountability and justice from the local law enforcement officers and government officials responsible for depriving you of your civil rights.
Common Civil Rights Violations by Police
Although police officers have a legal duty to uphold the law, some law enforcement officers break their oaths by violating individuals’ civil rights. Individuals may have claims for holding police accountable for civil rights violations, such as:
- Excessive force: Sometimes, police abuse the power entrusted to them. A police officer may violate a person’s civil rights by using more force than necessary to subdue or detain an individual or de-escalate a situation – for example, using deadly force against an unarmed suspect. Identifying relevant police department policies, determining whether they are constitutional, and arguing that police overstepped their lawful authority are key to winning these types of civil lawsuits.
- Physical/sexual abuse: Police violence is a serious issue. Officers may engage in intentional violence towards detainees or arrestees, including beating, kicking, or forcing sexual activity upon a detainee/arrestee.
- Police brutality: Police officers may use illegal force in retaliation against individuals exercising their rights, such as peaceful protestors or individuals recording police interactions from a reasonable distance.
- Neglect: Officers can endanger detainees or arrestees by ignoring serious medical needs, depriving detainees/arrestees of necessities, refusing to protect arrestees from fellow inmates, or ignoring a mental health crisis that leads to suicide.
- False arrest: A false arrest may occur when police arrest a person without an arrest warrant or probable cause to believe the person committed a crime. Many complaints alleging discriminatory treatment also argue that police arrest people based on a protected characteristic, such as race, color, national origin, or religious beliefs. Police may also falsely arrest an individual by manufacturing or planting evidence to support an arrest or concealing/destroying exculpatory evidence. Challenging these police practices is essential to deterring police misconduct.
- Unlawful searches and seizures: Police must have reasonable suspicion before they execute a traffic stop. They must have a warrant or probable cause before searching a person or their belongings. Police can violate a suspect’s civil rights by searching their person, vehicle, or home without a warrant or probable cause supporting a warrantless search under a recognized exception to the warrant requirement.
If an officer committed an act that violated your constitutional rights, Brian Zeiger can meet with you to discuss whether it is worthwhile to pursue civil rights litigation. A successful claim can ensure that the officers and law enforcement agencies responsible for the violations are held liable for their misconduct.
Legal Actions for Police Civil Rights Abuses
Civil rights violations can have significant implications for both the underlying criminal case and any subsequent civil litigation. A criminal prosecution may be dismissed if the prosecutor can be convinced that your rights were violated, or your criminal defense lawyer can argue that evidence should be suppressed due to illegally obtained evidence or other procedural violations. Criminal convictions can even be overturned on appeal if constitutional rights violations are found to have occurred.
A person who suffers a deprivation of their civil rights at the hands of law enforcement may also pursue a civil rights lawsuit against police. A lawsuit can give you the right to seek police accountability for civil rights violations. Individuals who become victims of civil rights violations due to police misconduct may file claims under state law or file a federal lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983, the federal statute that gives individuals a cause of action to pursue remedies for deprivations of their constitutional rights by persons acting under color of law. Individuals can also pursue §1983 claims against law enforcement departments and state or local governments for civil rights violations resulting from a department’s or government’s policy or custom that required or facilitated the violation.
A civil rights action against the police may allow victims to seek police accountability for civil rights violations and financial recovery for losses such as:
- Costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation for injuries caused by police misconduct, such as those inflicted by excessive force, physical abuse, coercive sexual conduct, or mistreatment (denial of medical care, food, water, etc.)
- Costs of long-term care required for prolonged or permanent disabilities resulting from physical injuries caused by police misconduct
- Costs of mental health treatment required for the emotional consequences of civil rights violations
- Lost wages/income when a civil rights victim misses time from work or loses their job due to police misconduct
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma and distress
- Reduced quality of life
How Qualified Immunity Can Impact Your Case
In the 1960s, the United States Supreme Court recognized a legal doctrine that limited the police’s liability for civil rights violations – qualified immunity. Although the Court ostensibly adopted qualified immunity to protect local and state governments from frivolous civil rights lawsuits, over the years, the doctrine has morphed into a shield for many instances of police misconduct. Under qualified immunity, a person can hold the police liable for a civil rights violation only if they prove:
- The police engaged in unlawful conduct.
- The officers should have known their conduct violated a clearly established right – a right recognized by prior court cases.
Qualified immunity can make it exceedingly difficult to secure accountability in civil rights claims against the police because a claimant must show that a controlling court had previously recognized the existence of the right allegedly violated by the police in the claimant’s case.
How Brian Zeiger Can Help if Police Have Violated Your Civil Rights
After suffering injuries or harm due to police misconduct and civil rights violations, Attorney Brian Zeiger can provide the aggressive and experienced legal representation you need to demand compensation and justice for your loss by:
- Thoroughly investigating your case to recover relevant evidence to build a compelling claim, such as police reports, bodycam footage, surveillance footage, news recordings, cell phone video, eyewitness statements, staffing records, and medical records of your injuries
- Documenting your injuries (physical and emotional) and the financial and personal loss you’ve incurred due to that harm, including medical expenses, mental health treatment costs, lost income, and pain and suffering
- Identifying all liable parties, including local officers, police department officials, local law enforcement agencies, federal agencies, and public officials
- Filing civil rights complaints against police on your behalf, including submitting citizen complaints to pursue internal affairs investigations
- Guiding you on how to file a lawsuit against a police department, including pursuing administrative remedies such as filing notices of tort claims and drafting a compelling complaint to file in court when the police department refuses to agree to a fair settlement of your claim
- Pursuing maximum compensation for the suffering and loss you’ve endured, whether through a negotiated settlement that provides fair financial recovery or by taking your case to trial to demand justice and accountability from officers and officials for their negligence or misconduct
Attorney Brian Zeiger has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for individuals whose rights were violated by law enforcement officers. Contact The Zeiger Firm today for a free, confidential consultation to learn how to hold police accountable and legally responsible for the harm you’ve endured due to officers’ violations of your civil rights.
