We all hate to believe that those meant to protect and serve us can behave in a way to harm and humiliate us, but it happens when certain police officers take advantage of or abuse their authority. We also do not want to believe that this behavior can be pervasive throughout any police agency, though this also happens.
Misconduct can take many forms, one being police brutality, often called excessive force. No officer is allowed to use more force than is necessary for the given situation. If you are being cooperative with the police and are assaulted by them for no reason of your own doing, this is beyond the authority for which they are protected. On occasion, a person can die from this brutality and his or her family has the right to sue the police agency.
Various Types of Police Misconduct
Though police officers have immunity from lawsuits while acting within their authority, they do not have that protection when they act in improper fashion. Some types of police misconduct can include the general public that has no involvement with the police. Consider a situation where there is a high speed chase and you are merely a driver on the road or a pedestrian on the sidewalk. This high speed chase results in one of the vehicles in the chase hitting your or your vehicle, causing you to be injured. Or perhaps there is gunfire exchanged, and you are shot as a result. This comes within the range of police misconduct. Police are not to endanger the public that they are supposed to be protecting and serving.
Unfortunately, the list of police misconduct goes on, including but not limited to:
- animal cruelty
- assault
- brutality
- bystander injury or harm
- child molestation
- civil rights violations
- excessive force (can include police dogs, firearms, fist strikes, tasers and more)
- failure to intervene (an officer witnessing another officer’s misconduct must act to stop it)
- false arrest, must be intentional
- false confessions
- false imprisonment
- falsification of evidence that results in incarceration, must be intentional
- intimidation and threats
- malicious prosecution
- perjury
- racial bias/profiling
- rape
- sexual assault and sexual battery
- surveillance abuse
- unnecessary force (can include police dogs, firearms, fist strikes, batons, tasers and more)
- unlawful stops
- wrongful actions under color of law (using authority granted police for wrong purposes)
- wrongful death
- wrongful raids
- wrongful searches
Need for Immediate Action
This list does not include all possible police misconduct. If you believe that you have an action against the police because of their misconduct, it is urgent that you act now. Georgia has a very short time frame within which you have to file these actions — just a matter of days. If you do not meet that short deadline, you lose your opportunity for recovery. Please act today so that you do not lose your chance to recover for your losses.
Contact Us Today if You or Your Loved Ones Have Been Victimized by Police Misconduct
You need an attorney experienced in police misconduct cases. There are many detailed factors in these types of cases to protect your rights and your case. The knowledge and experience held by the attorneys at Van Sant Law, can protect you and your case by handling it properly from the beginning. We understand that these cases are emotional and even frightening, but we are here to support you in the process and to obtain the best possible compensation for you in this fight. Please give us a call immediately or fill out our contact form so we can discuss your case and meet the short deadline Georgia sets for filing these cases.
.2410171551550.png)
