Ask a Civil Rights Attorney: What Are Examples of Police Misconduct?

Every person in the U.S. has civil rights, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, or immigration status. You do not lose any of these rights when the police suspect you of a crime. Even when incarcerated, you are entitled to your health and safety.

When law enforcement officials deprive you of these rights, a civil rights attorney police misconduct case can be brought.

Civil rights laws and Constitutional doctrines protect you from many wrongful police actions. The following examples cover some of the cases civil rights attorneys can bring against police agencies.

Excessive Force

Society grants police officers the authority to use force. However, the purpose and extent of this authority are limited.

Officers can use force necessary to protect themselves and others. However, when they use force for other purposes or exceed the reasonable amount of force needed under the circumstances, they may be liable for any resulting injuries or deaths.

For example, Virginia prohibits officers from using chokeholds, firing into moving vehicles, and discharging non-lethal kinetic munitions except in specific situations. If an officer violates these laws, they have committed misconduct, and their department or agency may be liable to anyone injured.

Excessive force can also include other acts. For example, officers might deploy pepper spray at a suspect who has already been cuffed. A jury could reasonably find that this act exceeded the force necessary to control the suspect and protect the officer and bystanders.

False Arrest or Unlawful Detention

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Likewise, the Due Process Clause protects you from punishment without the opportunity to challenge the case against you. Finally, the Fourth Amendment requires police officers to have an arrest warrant or probable cause to suspect you of a crime before arresting you.

All of these protections block the police from arresting or detaining you without a valid legal basis. If the police arrest you for any other reason, they may have violated your civil rights, and you may have a case against the department.

For example, if you were arrested for recording someone else’s arrest without interfering or physically intervening, you may have been falsely arrested.

Racial Profiling and Discrimination

The federal laws and the Constitution’s Equal Protection clause bar the police from targeting people based on the following suspect classifications:

• Race
• Sex, including sexual orientation
• Religion
• National origin
• Disability

The reason these categories are “suspect” is because acts based on them are almost always based on prejudice. In other words, the police cannot target an individual simply because of their apparent race or other characteristics, unless they have something other than stereotypes, such as a witness’s description of a perpetrator.

Targeting people for arrests, traffic stops, or other official acts based solely on suspect characteristics often violates their civil rights.

Failure to Provide Medical Care

Under the Eighth Amendment, officials must not display deliberate indifference toward the medical needs of someone in custody. Specifically, they must assist anyone who clearly needs medical care. If officers deny or delay treatment, they may violate the prisoner’s civil rights.

Evidence Tampering or Fabrication

Due process of law means that police officers, crime labs, and prosecutors have a duty to conduct a fair investigation and prosecution. When they mishandle or, worse yet, falsify or destroy evidence, the person may have a civil rights claim.

Illegal Searches and Seizures

The Fourth Amendment requires the police to have a search warrant or grounds that fall into a warrantless exception to search your property or body. You may have a civil rights case when the police search you or seize your property without legal justification.

Sexual Misconduct or Harassment

The police have many investigative tools at their disposal. They also have inherent authority over civilians because they can investigate and arrest. When officers misuse or abuse these powers to sexually assault, harass, or coerce, they may violate the target’s civil rights.

Failure to Intervene

Police officers have a legal duty to intervene to stop excessive force. They may also have a duty to stop or report other forms of misconduct, such as planting evidence. Enablers might be included in a civil rights case.

Retaliation Against Whistleblowers or Complainants

The police enforce the laws. They cannot harass, coerce, or punish people who report legal violations through complaints or calls for assistance. When the police retaliate against people for reporting crimes, including police misconduct, they may violate their civil rights.

FAQ

Do Civil Rights Attorney Police Misconduct Cases Only Involve Inmates and Arrestees?

A civil rights attorney for police misconduct can hold officers accountable for acts toward anyone, including people who are not ultimately arrested or incarcerated. For example, the police are accountable to bystanders injured during high-speed chases or people injured while lawfully protesting.

What Kind of Law Does a Civil Rights Police Misconduct Attorney Practice?

Civil rights and police misconduct attorneys have experience with Constitutional law. They also know state and federal civil rights laws. Finally, they have often dealt with personal injury cases and understand how to prove the losses suffered after the police injure or kill victims.

What Compensation Can I Get in a Police Misconduct Lawsuit?

Your compensation can cover economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses encompass financial losses, such as medical costs and lost wages. Non-economic losses are the ways the rights violation affects you non-financially, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and humiliation.

Contact Commonwealth Law Group to Learn How Civil Rights Attorney Police Misconduct Cases Work

You should not bear the burden of physical and mental injuries wrongfully inflicted by the police. Contact us to discuss how your civil rights were violated and the remedies we can seek for your losses.