Injured by the Police? Here's how to sue for excessive force

Injured by the POLICE? Here's how to SUE for excessive force: Police can be sued in civil court for Excessive Force, if they violated your 4th amendment constitutional right against unreasonable seizure, under a federal statute created in the Civil Rights Act of 1871. What you should know: 2$ Filing a lawsuit against the police is a long and expensive process. You will probably have to pay an expert on police procedures, expert medical witnesses and other experts. Only serious injuries are worth risking thousands of dollars on suing the police in civil court. For example: permanent disability are much more likely to justify suing the police. %24 Steps to take: Obtain legal counsel. 01 Suing the police is very complex and requires expert legal guidance. Determine the extent of your injuries. If your injuries are not serious enough to justify risking thousands of dollars, then suing the cops in civil court is probably not worth it. 02 Examine the strength of evidence you have to prove the officer acted unreasonably. For example, bruises and soft tissue injuries such as sprain or strains are almost never enough of an injury to justify suing the police. However, injuries that cause a permanent disability are much more likely to substantiate a strong case. • Do you have videos of the officer's use of force? 03 • Do you have credible eyewit- nesses that saw the incident? • Did the police car have a camera operating at the time? 04 • Do your injuries prove the use excessive use of a taser or another police weapon? III Determine whether *Ask around for witnesses. you have a legitimate case against the police for excessive force. Talk to the businesses in the area and see if they have video cameras. You must be able to prove that a police officer acted unreasonably when he/she used force against you. What is unreasonable force? It depends on all the facts surrounding the incident, including: • Whether the officer believed you were threatening the safety of the officer or another person • Whether the officer could have reasonably detained you without the use of force • Whether you had already been detained at the time that force was used against you • Whether you were carrying a weapon of any kind • Whether you have a history of violence that is known by the officer Suing the police can be a very complicated process, and it can be hard to prove that the police used an unreasonable degree of excessive force. Be aware that courts will tend to determine police conduct is reasonable, because they don't want to undermine a police officers ability to make difficult split-second decisions. If you have suffered serious injuries and you have proof that an officer unreasonably used excessive force, you should speak to your civil rights lawyer about filing a lawsuit against the police and the local government whom they work for. 828.333.5024 [email protected] wwW.MINICKLAW.COM