Police Brutality and Excessive Force
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Excessive force is when the amount of physical force used to arrest or detain an individual can be reasonably considered as being more than necessary in a particular situation. Civil rights law allows police to use a reasonable amount of physical force to arrest or detain someone, but they may not use an unreasonable amount of force.
Civil rights laws are loosely defined and what determines if excessive force was used (or if there are grounds for a police brutality lawsuit), largely depends upon the circumstances of individual incidents and how well your attorney prepares and presents your case. Police brutality is also a violation of civil rights law. Brutality, and the use of excessive force by law enforcement officials is clearly illegal, however, the individual circumstances of each case must be evaluated to determine if a civil rights violation has occurred. Police brutality involves unreasonable force used to arrest or detain an individual that results in a serious injury. Not all injuries sustained during arrests or detainments are considered police brutality. For example, a person who is injured in a car accident or trips and breaks their leg while trying to avoid arrest cannot make a claim of police brutality if their own actions led to the injury. Another example where an officer or a police dog might not consider injuries police brutality would be if a person ran and had to be tackled, resulting in bumps and bruises from the fall, or minor dog bites and scratches. However, if the person was mauled by a police dog, or beaten after they submitted or were subdued there might be a basis for a police brutality lawsuit. We offer a free consultation to help you understand your civil rights and the value of your case. You can contact us through our website, or call our Fresno, CA office at (559) 498-0828. We can help you properly document the extent of your injuries and help ensure valuable evidence is preserved. Lazaro Salazar Law handles many types of police abuse cases including those involving: beatings with fists, batons or other objects; kicking; choking and choke holds; slamming of body or head against a wall, ground, vehicle, etc.; unnecessary use of pepper spray and tasers; inappropriate use of attack dogs; excessive force; and denial of medical care. |
