Is Tasing Another Cop Considered Police Misconduct?

An arrest involving two police officers and a taser recently made headlines across the country. The incident took place in Riverside last week.

Two police officers were responding to a domestic incident, and found the suspected, 22-year-old Christopher McClinton, sitting in his vehicle.

Reports indicate that the suspect refused to give the police officers his ID and didn’t comply with their requests to exit the vehicle. At this point, the officers had to use force and pull McClinton from the vehicle.

But the suspect reportedly began resisting arrest, which prompted one of the police officers to fire his taser. However, things didn’t go as planned.

While one of the prongs hit the suspect, the other one struck another officer, who injured his head as a result. The police officer was taken to the hospital to receive medical attention for the head injury.

Is using a taser considered police misconduct?

While the further investigation into the incident is required, our police misconduct attorneys at JML Law argue that tasing another cop may not constitute police misconduct if it was purely accidental and there was a struggle during arrest, which led to one of the prongs hitting both the suspect and another officer.

However, the Riverside incident in question may still amount to police misconduct if:

1. The police officers unlawfully used force on the suspect (and he did not, in fact, tell them straightforwardly or gave them a reason to believe that he wouldn’t exit his vehicle voluntarily)
2. The use of the taser was not justified if the suspect was not resisting arrest and could have been handcuffed even without firing prongs at him.

However, McClinton has not yet accused the police officers of police misconduct, police brutality, or false arrest.

Many arrested people don’t know their civil rights

Here at JML Law, we advise all those who get arrested or physical force – or taser – is being used against them by the police, to consult a Riverside police misconduct attorney to rule out the possibility that the police’s actions amounted to police misconduct.

Most people who get arrested experience shock, which makes it common for victims of police misconduct to fail to realize that the police’s actions were unlawful and their civil rights were violated.

Whether you were arrested in Riverside, California, or elsewhere in our country, your civil rights are protected by the First and Fourth Amendments as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

1. Wrongful arrests, excessive form, unjustified use of taser or gun, or police brutality are prohibited
2. Illegal searches and seizures as well as wrongful convictions are violations of your civil rights
3. You have the right to freedom of speech and you’re protected against retaliation
4. Any form of discrimination based on gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, or national origin on the part of police officers is unlawful.

Here at JML Law, our police misconduct attorneys are available 24/7 to speak to victims of false arrests, police brutality, wrongful convictions, and other types of police misconduct.

If you believe your constitutional rights have been violated, don’t hesitate to seek the legal help of a police misconduct lawyer to pursue justice. Call our Riverside offices at 818-610-8800 or send an email for a free case evaluation.