Protecting Your Rights If The Police Have Violated Them
In America, we give the police broad authority to do what is necessary to protect us. Police brutality is a violation of that trust, whether or not you committed a crime. At The Law Office of Mallon & Tranger, we are proud to represent people who have suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result of police brutality.
What Constitutes Police Brutality?
Many people believe that if suspects are drunk, disorderly or disrespectful, they deserve what they get. We do not. Police are allowed to use only the force necessary to subdue a suspect, even if the person resists arrest or disrespects the officer. Our firm has recovered more than $1.6 million for clients in a wide variety of police brutality cases:
- Handcuffs that were so tight our client required surgery to repair the damage
- Clients assaulted by multiple officers at the police station
- Assaults while being arrested
- People who were pepper sprayed after they were in handcuffs
- Failure to provide medical treatment for injured suspects
What Are Police Entitled To Do?
Police officers do have the right to use force in certain situations. Under New Jersey law, they can use physical force as a last resort to subdue an active assailant or a resistor. They may use force only as a last resort if verbal de-escalation does not succeed. However, the amount of force must be reasonable, proportionate and necessary – not excessive.
Holding the police accountable is incredibly difficult, as individual police officers and public entities such as police forces are immune to many kinds of lawsuits. To sue one of these parties successfully, you must prove to the court that the officer acted willfully and unreasonably in their conduct. This usually involves providing evidence that their misconduct is part of a pattern of behavior.
Representing Victims Of Police Brutality
Often, these cases result in a criminal suspect facing additional charges to cover up police misconduct. Since the officers need to explain the injuries, they often file false police reports that misrepresent the causes of a suspect’s injury.
Our attorneys have extensive experience examining police reports, finding witnesses, obtaining police or other recordings of the incident and interviewing officers who were at the scene. This information often enables us to disprove what the officers wrote in their original police report. It can also provide the evidence we need to file federal civil rights charges as well as charges related to:
- Excessive force
- False arrest
- Malicious prosecution
- Abuse of power
- Filing a false report
- False imprisonment
- Illegal search and seizure
- Racial profiling
Our firm has successfully handled New Jersey police brutality cases against officers in Seaside Park, Freehold, Atlantic City, Jackson, Long Branch and Hazlet. We are prepared to represent you and invite you to take a look at some of our recent police misconduct settlements.
If You Survived Police Brutality, Get Our Help Now
Contact The Law Office of Mallon & Tranger if you have any questions about filing a police brutality lawsuit. We have offices in Freehold and Point Pleasant to serve clients in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Our attorneys can be reached by phone at 732-702-0333 or by contacting us online.