Police can violate your rights in a number of ways during a traffic stop, whether it is a wrongful decision to stop you in the first place or the conduct that they subject you to while they are dealing with you. If police have violated your rights, the experienced Los Angeles County civil rights lawyers at The Skapik Law Group can help you act.
There are a number of steps that you would need to take in the legal process to bring the wrongful conduct to light and to potentially seek justice and accountability in the form of financial compensation. The first step should be to contact an experienced civil rights attorney who can let you know if you have a potential lawsuit.
You can begin to gain some power in this situation when you seek out a civil rights lawyer at The Skapik Law Group for a free initial consultation. We can help hold the police department accountable for illegal conduct.
You are likely reading this after you have been subjected to a traffic stop where you believe that police acted illegally. Hopefully, you were able to remain calm at the scene to preserve your own legal rights and not give law enforcement a reason to discredit your case. The work towards a legal claim begins right after the traffic stop or when you have been released from police custody. You may have a potential civil rights lawsuit against the police department that could lead to financial compensation.
Seek Legal Help from a Civil Rights Lawyer
You may stand very little chance of getting justice for an illegal stop when you are trying to handle the matter on your own. Although you may have a compelling side of the story to tell, the powers that be are often not prepared to listen to you. They need to know that you have a powerful spokesperson who has the ability to make them pay the price legally. Accordingly, you should seek help from an experienced civil rights lawyer as soon as possible after you have been victimized.
A civil rights attorney would perform a number of tasks for your case. Not only would they communicate on your behalf with the police department, but they could file a lawsuit for you in court and fight for you to be compensated for the violation of your rights.
Gather Your Own Evidence
After the stop, you should review your own version of events and determine whether you have any evidence that could support your claim. If someone in your vehicle or a nearby car recorded the traffic stop, it could greatly help your case. Unfortunately, it is relatively rare to have direct video footage of an unlawful traffic stop. The police officer who made the stop may have intimidated you out of being able to film them, and you would likely have had to keep both hands visible and on the steering wheel at all times. You may have had witnesses to the stop who are able to testify on your behalf about what they saw.
File a Complaint with the Police Department
As the first step, you need to create a record of the fact that you were subjected to an illegal stop. You would want to go on record with the police department and file a complaint with them. They would be obligated to conduct their own internal investigation of your complaint, although they may go into damage protection mode. Nonetheless, you need to make the police department aware of the conduct.
File a Civil Rights Lawsuit in Court
There is both a state and federal law that could allow you to sue a police department directly, seeking compensation for the harm that you have suffered from a violation of your civil rights.
- The Bane Act allows you to file a lawsuit when an officer interferes with or attempts to interfere with your constitutional or legal rights through threats, intimidation, or coercion.
- 42 USC 1983 allows you to sue the police department when they subject “under color of [state law], subjects… any citizen of the United States… to the deprivation of any rights.”
Under either of these statutes, you would be legally entitled to your day in court. If it is found that the police department has violated your rights, you may be eligible for financial compensation.
Contact a Los Angeles County Civil Rights Law Firm Today
If you have been a victim of an illegal stop, or an unlawful search or seizure, reach out to a Los Angeles County civil rights lawyer at The Skapik Law Group to discuss your case and learn about your legal rights. You can schedule a free initial consultation by filling out an online contact form or by calling us today at (909) 398-4404.
About The Author
Skapik Law Group is a trusted, full-service firm dedicated to handling complex legal issues that profoundly affect our clients’ lives, including civil rights and police misconduct, employment law, CPS misconduct, and catastrophic personal injury cases. In litigation, there are no second chances, and we bring the experience needed to get it right. Since 2003, we’ve successfully represented thousands of clients throughout Southern California, serving San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange County, and the greater Los Angeles area from our main office in Chino Hills.
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