The Sunwabe Law Firm Is Here to Protect Your Future
Civil rights are the privileges and freedoms that every human has the right to enjoy. These rights, privileges, and freedoms are also protected by our government, in the Constitution and in other ways. In addition to the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, civil rights have been expanded to protect people against discrimination based on race, gender, age, or religion. Civil rights laws also protect people against unduly intrusive actions by the government and from arbitrary government actions that would deprive them of their civil rights without the due process of law. Despite these protections, individuals have their civil rights violated every day. Perhaps one of the worst violations is police brutality. If you have faced the terrifying and illegal civil rights violation of having a police officer abuse their power over you, an experienced civil rights attorney at Sunwabe Law may be able to represent you and help you get the justice you deserve.
Civil Rights Violations
Police brutality or misconduct is just one civil rights violation The Sunwabe Law Firm can assist you with. We can also assist you with civil rights violations based on based on age, sex, race, religion, color, disability or national origin:
- Employment discrimination such as being fired, passed over for promotion, or not hired
- Housing discrimination such as being denied the right to rent or purchase a home
- Banking discrimination such as being denied credit or a loan
- Racial violence such as verbal or written threats, physical assaults, homicides, or property damage
- Public education discrimination such as being denied the right to attend school or use accommodations as required by law
We can also provide assistance if you have experienced a violation of your right to vote, the right to a fair trial, to use government services, to use public facilities, or freely practice your religion.
What Is Police Brutality?
Police brutality is a form of police misconduct. Police misconduct is when law enforcement officers engage in inappropriate or illegal behavior while they are acting in the official capacity as a law enforcement officer. These inappropriate or illegal behaviors might include corruption, tampering with evidence, racial profiling, use of excessive force, false arrest, sexual misconduct, providing false testimony, or police brutality.
Police brutality is when law enforcement officers use physical assault or verbal abuse against a civilian while on duty. Blacks are disproportionately affected by police brutality, but anyone may be a victim. Additionally, police brutality is not limited to just those law enforcement that are specifically identified as police officers. Sheriffs and their deputies, state highway patrol, and federal law enforcement officials may also engage in police brutality.
While there are also many excellent law enforcement officers who uphold the law and do not engage in these behaviors, there are many officers who will protect the officers who engage in police misconduct and brutality, whether the protecting officers engage in such behavior or not. This can make it difficult not only to prove that misconduct or brutality has occurred, but also to know who can be trusted and who cannot.
Police Brutality or Police Misconduct
Police misconduct and police brutality can take many forms. Some examples of cases The Sunwabe Law Firm has handled include:
- False or unlawful arrest: arresting an innocent individual or a suspect while recklessly disregarding the lack of sufficient evidence to arrest them.
- False imprisonment: detaining a suspect for longer than permitted by law or regulation or detaining them without probable cause.
- Forced confessions: obtaining confessions by threatening, abusing, or torturing the suspect or their family.
- Excessive force: using force that is disproportionate to the threat the suspect poses, or disproportionate to the amount of force required to subdue and arrest the suspect.
- Deadly force: the use of unauthorized force that carries a substantial risk of causing bodily injury or death, or the use of less-than-lethal force that leads to the infliction of one or more fatal wounds.
- Police shooting: the use of a law enforcement firearm when it is not necessary, including the use of a firearm on an unarmed suspect.
- Sexual assault or harassment: rape, unwanted sexual contact, the trading of sexual favors, or statements or comments of a harassing nature based on sex.
- Racial profiling: when law enforcement takes action against an individual based on their race, color, or national origin.
- Strip searches: stripping a suspect completely nude with little to no privacy to search them, usually for the purposes of embarrassing, humiliating, or sexually abusing or harassing the suspect.
- Blackmail and coercion: threatening a witness, their family or friends, often to obtain testimony or evidence which may or may not be reliable or truthful.
What Can You Recover in a Police Brutality Claim?
Once you have suffered police brutality, some things may never be the same. You may never trust law enforcement again. However, there are other things that, even if they are not the same, you may be compensated for the significant damage this civil rights violation has done to your life.
Many police brutality victims suffer physical, emotional, and financial losses. Some of these losses that can be compensated include:
Medical expenses:
Any expenses incurred to treat physical injuries resulting from the brutality. These expenses may include emergency room treatment and hospitalization, physical therapy, prescriptions and other medications, surgeries, and other costs or bills.
Loss of income
This can be lost income while you recover from your injuries, or it may be lost income due to the loss of your job or employment opportunities as a result of police misconduct including false arrest or imprisonment, or wrongful prosecution and conviction.
Emotional distress
After you have experienced the trauma and distress of police misconduct or police brutality, you can be compensated for the mental health treatment you may have needed to process and deal with what happened.
Permanent emotional, cognitive, or physical injuries
When police brutality or misconduct results in permanent emotional, cognitive, or physical injuries that reduce the quality of your life or your life expectancy, you can be compensated.
How Can You Protect Your Police Brutality Claim?
After suffering at the hands of law enforcement, it is only natural that you would not trust police and would want to tell others about your experience. However, there are certain things you should and should not do in order to protect your police brutality claim. Some of these include:
Don't resist arrest
Even when you know you are innocent, and even if you are later found innocent of the crime you were arrested for, resisting arrest is a separate charge that you can still be convicted of. Additionally, resisting arrest provides justification for the police to use greater force against you to secure your arrest. This justification can weaken a later claim of police misconduct or brutality.
Document the scene
If you are able, get the names and contact information of any bystanders who saw the event. Encourage your family and friends to get this information for you if you are unable to do it yourself. Ask for any video footage anyone may have of the event as well.
See a doctor or medical provider as soon as possible
If you know you are injured during the arrest, inform the arresting officers. They have a legal obligation to provide medical care. If you discover your injury later, and are still detained, inform an officer and request medical care. If you discover your injury later and are no longer detained, seek medical care and document the injuries. Keep records of your diagnosis and all treatments and take photos of the injuries you sustained. Ensure that you follow all treatment instructions, attend all medical and treatment appointments, and take all prescribed medications as instructed.
Keep copies of bills and invoices for recovery-related expenses
Even if your private health insurance pays the bills or you pay cash out of pocket, keep all bills and invoices for medical appointments, treatments, prescriptions, surgeries, therapies, and other recovery-related expenses. Additionally, keep copies of income statements or paystubs if you lost time from work to recover or lost your job due to the police brutality or misconduct.
Do not discuss your case on social media or with anyone
Anything you say online can be used in both a criminal and civil case against you. This includes public posts as well as private messages through the social media platform. Additionally, you should not speak with friends, relatives, co-workers, or neighbors about your case, as these individuals may be called to testify.
Let an Experienced Civil Rights Attorney Represent You
At The Sunwabe Law Firm, we believe that the people who violate another’s civil rights, particularly when it comes to police brutality, should be held accountable for their actions. In an initial consultation, we can review your case and discuss how we may be able to help you pursue financial compensation for your losses and injuries, hold the officers responsible accountable, and get you the justice you deserve. Call (202) 773-0635 to schedule your consultation today.
