Frequently Asked Questions

Officers of the law are to operate in their official capacity and when they go outside of this capacity it could result in a civil rights violation. Civil Rights are defined by the U.S. Constitution as well as federal and state laws. Some of the most common rights that are violated in police misconduct cases are:

• Freedom of speech
• Right to be free from excessive force
• Freedom from unreasonable search and seizures
• Right to due process before being deprived of life, liberty or property 
• Prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment

When making an arrest, police are only allowed to use as much force as reasonably necessary. The level of force deemed acceptable is determined by various factors, including:

• the seriousness of the crime committed
• whether the suspect is resisting arrest or trying to flea the scene 
• the reason to believe there is an immediate threat to police officers or others
• the officer’s decisions leading up to the use of force

There are strict rules that law enforcement must follow when it comes to the privacy rights of its citizens. When those rules are not followed, such as performing a search or arrest without a warrant or probable cause, the result can be an illegal search and seizure. 

 A false arrest occurs if the police officer has no legal authority to make the arrest or carried out in an unreasonable manner. Such instances are in  violation of the Fourth Amendment. 

Qualified Immunity was established in 1967 and  protects police officers from personal liability in misconduct cases. The basic concept is that lawsuits are only allowed if the police violated “clearly established” law. This means in order to move forward with a lawsuit, we must point to an already existing case that has substantially similar facts to your case. If no previous case exists, then the police officer is immune from any further legal action. 

The Fourth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government and its officials. The Fourth Amendment protects against searches and seizures that are deemed unreasonable under the law. Police officers must have a valid warrant or probable cause in order to search your person, car or home.