Let’s imagine you’re a law-abiding factory worker. After a long day at work, you’re driving home and get stopped by the New York City police for a seemingly minor speeding infraction. However, something goes terribly wrong while the officer is talking to you through your car window. Suddenly, you’re being dragged out of your vehicle, and the officer is beating you with his bully club before he puts handcuffs on you and lugs you off to jail.
Since there was absolutely no reason for the officer to beat you, it’s possible that you have a viable police brutality claim that you could file in court to recoup money relating to your medical care and other damages. At Sivin & Miller, we have handled numerous police brutality cases during our combined years of experience of almost 60 years.
The fact is that police are not permitted to use excessive force in any situation, no matter how agitated they are, and no matter how afraid they are. However, it seems like police brutality is only growing in frequency in our nation. Police are afraid, they’re edgy, and they’re making bad decisions that end up getting New York residents hurt or killed.
When police are tasked to do anything in New York, they must use the minimum level of force required to achieve their objectives. This means that if you are mouthing off to an officer — which is definitely not the recommended behavior — the police officer is not allowed to hit you just because he or she is angry.
If you were hurt by a police officer, you may be able to seek financial restitution by filing a police brutality and/or civil rights claim. Such an action should be taken quickly because waiting to file the claim could result in statutes of limitation challenges, which create a time limitation within which a claim needs to be filed.