Report A Case
info@lawyer1.com
Practice Areas
Civil Rights
Civil rights are those rights guaranteed to you by the United States Constitution. Unfortunately, New York State has a large number of instances where these inalienable rights are ignored by members of the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police and other police agencies.
While most police officials understand and act within the confines of the law, there are those who step over the line either inadvertently or as a result of an emotionally charged situation. Whatever the motivation, a police officer’s actions can result in legal liability for the officer, individually, as well as the department, the municipality and/or others.
What Are The Most Common Civil Rights Violations?
The most common civil rights violations are: False Arrest,
False Imprisonment and Police Brutality, Malicious Prosecution and Racial
Profiling.
What Is False Arrest?
False arrests occur when a police officer arrests an individual
for a crime without a reasonable basis in fact to believe he or she committed
the crime.
What Is False Imprisonment?
False imprisonment usually follows a false arrest: it is depriving
an individual of his freedom of movement, either by confined space or
by physical restraint, without any legal right to hold the person.
What Is Police Brutality?
Police brutality happens when a police officer uses excessive
force in arresting or subduing a suspect. Police brutality can involve
conduct ranging from rough treatment, beatings, chokings, and unjustified
shootings. Police brutality can be fatal.
What Is Malicious Prosecution?
Malicious Prosecution involves a criminal prosecution without
any legal basis or factual support. Malice can be involved here,
and usually the suit is the product of an initial false arrest.
What Is Racial Profiling?
Racial profiling occurs when law enforcement targets individuals
for suspicion of a crime based upon their race, religion, ethnicity or
national origin. The officer assumes that certain characteristics
are automatically associated with crime. A common example is an
police officer deciding to pull over a driver based solely upon their
race.
What Can You Do?
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a civil rights
violation, a lawsuit can be filed to correct this wrong and monetary
damages can be assessed against the wrongdoers.
HKPD is proud of our civil rights involvement. In particular, HKPD Partner Jonathan Damashek handled a number of civil rights violation cases during his affiliation with the the late Johnnie Cochran, Jr., and the New York office of his firm: The Cochran Firm, Schneider, Kleinick, Weitz, Damashek & Shoot.
Please contact a HKPD civil rights lawyer for a free, initial consultation. We’re here to help.
For more information:
FindlawArticle: What are Civil Rights?
http://public.findlaw.com/civil-rights/civil-rights-basics/civil-rights-defined.html