Were you injured by excessive force from police?

What are your rights if you were injured by excessive force?

If you were injured by excessive force from law enforcement you may be able to make a civil claim for injury.

Police officers are charged with the oftentimes-challenging job of upholding the laws and protecting the public welfare and safety.  Most police officers are good people who take their job and their role very seriously, but some officers take advantage of their position of power.

As a society we entrust our officers with our well-being and therefore give them some latitude when it comes to how they respond and how much force they can use when they have to enforce the law. However, there are limitations to this latitude, and police officers are required to limit the force they use to only what is necessary to control the situation.

Officers who use more than the force necessary to control the situation is using excessive force and may be held liable for their actions if this excessive force injures others.

Police officers can be held accountable in a court of law if their excessive force led to a person’s personal injury. Additionally, if the excessive force led to the death of the person, the officer may sued for criminal liability as well as civil wrongful death lawsuit.

Most cases will be settled outside of court because the law enforcement agencies tend to want to avoid the publicity of a lawsuit. A lawsuit against the police could negatively impact the local community’s perception of their police force if it were highly publicized.

If you or a loved one suffered due to police brutality, you could pursue legal action as if it were a personal injury lawsuit.