How to Take Legal Action Against Police Brutality and Misconduct

It seems like every other day there is a new high-profile case involving some form of police brutality or misconduct in the United States. While most police officers take their jobs very seriously, displaying ethical behavior in accordance with the law, it is an unfortunate fact that that is not always the case.

Police officers are not above the law. If you were a victim of police brutality, or if you’ve lost a loved one at the hands of overly aggressive law enforcement officers, you should know that you have legal options.

Filing an internal complaint

Police departments have procedures in place to take complaints about officers. These complaints are often called citizens’ complaints or internal affairs complaints. Like any other option, it has its pros and cons. On one hand, a citizen’s complaint notifies the police department of an officer’s behavior, of which his supervisors might be unaware. This could potentially lead to the officer’s discipline, counselling, or retraining.  Unfortunately, many law enforcement agencies have shown that they will not impartially or thoroughly investigate their own.  And a citizen’s complaint will not result in any monetary compensation for the victim or in any legal repercussions for the police officer.

Filing a criminal complaint

Federal laws that govern police misconduct include both criminal and civil statutes. It is a crime for a person to deprive another of any rights protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States while acting under color of law (18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242). These laws cover forms of police brutality such as excessive use of force, sexual assault, willful false arrest, fabrication of evidence, among others.

Since these are criminal statutes, an officer may face fines or imprisonment. Nonetheless, you cannot file these actions on your own and criminal charges against officers are rare.  Criminal charges against police officers are rarely filed.  Prosecutors will only tend to take a case if the misconduct or form of police brutality was outrageous, often on video, and if they believe that there is overwhelming evidence beyond reasonable doubt that can lead a jury to convict a police officer.

Civil suits in police brutality cases

Congress has created our system where the vast majority of civil rights violations are addressed by “private attorney generals” – regular people with private civil rights lawyers.

Civil suits offer great advantages for victims of police brutality. One of them is that you get to work with a lawyer who can represent your interests in court. This means that as a client, you get to consult with your attorney on evidence, witnesses, your injuries, and whether you wish to settle. In a civil suit, you can only expect to receive monetary damages if you win.  Some civil rights attorneys are also skilled at winning reforms from police and sheriffs’ departments so that future violations of rights are prevented.

Find a California police brutality lawyer

Consulting with a local civil rights lawyer is extremely useful when deciding to take legal action against police brutality. California’s state statutes offer a variety of legal resources for you as a victim, including several types of civil rights lawsuits in addition to federal civil rights claims. 

The civil rights attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP have a long track record of winning excessive force cases with results that include large settlements and verdicts for their clients, groundbreaking legal rulings, and important reforms to prevent future harms.  Haddad & Sherwin LLP handle only a unique subset of civil rights cases: cases where a person was killed or permanently, catastrophically injured in California by law enforcement or county jail misconduct.  If you would like to consult with experienced civil rights lawyers because your loved one was killed by police or died in a California county jail, then contact the attorneys at Haddad & Sherwin LLP.  If your civil rights were seriously violated, but without death and without permanent, catastrophic injury, you could try the list of civil rights attorneys here.