Every day, regular citizens suffer from police brutality and other forms of civil rights violations. When this happens, they may suffer from physical harm, economic costs, and damage to their personal and professional lives. Here are seven ways the police may violate your civil rights:
- Racial profiling
- One type of sadly common civil rights violation is known as racial profiling, which is the practice of targeting people for suspicion, investigation or arrest based on their race. While this practice is illegal, it still can be seen in practice from some police departments.
- False arrest
- This type of civil rights violation comes about when a police officer arrests someone without adequate grounds to justify the arrest. This could be the result of mistaken identity, or working off faulty evidence, or simply arresting someone without any evidence to justify their actions at all.
- Malicious prosecution
- Malicious prosecution occurs when law enforcement officers initiate or maintain a criminal case without probable cause or for another purpose unrelated to the interest of justice. It often involves the manufacturing of evidence against the defendant, the suppression of evidence favorable to the defendant or the falsification of an application for a warrant.
- Unreasonable search or seizure
- The Constitution forbids police from conducting any unreasonable search or seizure that is not backed by probable cause. This means they are violating your civil rights if they, for example, try to search you for a crime they have no evidence you committed, or seize your property as “evidence” without proof your property has anything to do with an alleged crime.
- Excessive force
- A sadly common type of civil rights violation is the use of excessive force, when the police use extreme violence when it is not necessary to do so. This can often result in severe injury or even death to its victims, with many suffering long-term health complications as a result.
- Coerced interrogation
- The police are supposed to respect your right to remain silent, and avoid engaging in unduly coercive tactics to convince you to speak to them. However, some police will engage in illegal coercion to interrogate suspects or witnesses, including using violence or threats of violence, or denying them access to food, water, or other necessities.
- Refusing access to a lawyer
- You always have a right to have a lawyer present through any criminal proceeding, from the moment you are arrested all the way through to your trial. If the police deny you access to an attorney on request, they may have committed a serious civil rights violation.
Williams Cedar is a law firm dedicated to helping clients with personal injury, environmental law, and civil rights cases. We specialize in assisting clients who have been injured due to exposure to environmental toxins, including veterans and their loved ones. If you need legal assistance due to toxic exposure or other related matters, please give us a call at our New Jersey and Pennsylvania offices at (215) 557-0099, or visit our contact page.