In the United States of America, everyone – including you – has civil rights, no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or national origin. But your civil rights – including your right to be free from false arrest and your right to not be abused by the police – are violated all too often. When these rights are violated, we are here to help you fight back.
False Arrest
Under the United States Constitution, police may not arrest you unless they have what is called probable cause. While this standard is much lower than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, there must be reasonable grounds to make an arrest. Good police follow this constitutional mandate. But bad police unlawfully detain or arrest completely innocent citizens. If this happens to you, you may be able to file a lawsuit for false arrest and seek monetary damages. Under New York law, in these cases, you have to prove four elements:
- That the police intentionally confined you
- That you were consciously aware of the confinement
- That you did not consent to the confinement, and
- That the police did not have the right to confine you (usually this means that they did not have a warrant or probable cause to make the arrest).
Police Abuse
Because of possible misconduct by police officers in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City, police abuse is a hot topic in the news right now. People nationwide are finally starting to recognize that at least some police are regularly using unjustifiable amounts of force against often unarmed individuals. Unfortunately, some of those individuals have been killed. And there are countless others who have been unjustifiably beaten, Tasered, and harassed. While police are allowed to use force to do their jobs, they must use only reasonable and necessary force. When that force becomes unreasonable or unnecessary and you are a victim of that excessive force, you have rights. The primary law that we use to assert your rights in these cases is called Section 1983. This federal law allowed you to recover monetary damages when your civil rights have been violated. Sometimes Section 1983 can also be used in false arrest cases.
Call Bromberg Law Office, P.C.
When your civil rights have been violated it can be hard to know to whom you can turn. After all, the police who are supposed to protect us are the ones who have wronged you. That is why you need the help of an experienced and passionate civil rights attorney. The Bromberg Law Office can help.
Call us today at (212)248-7906 or fill out the form below.