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What are the Impacts of Police Misconduct?

By: JML Law | June 25, 2020.
What are the Impacts of Police Misconduct?

With the current movement and nationwide protest addressing the issue of police brutality, law enforcement misconduct has under greater scrutiny and public focus. As a result, its more widely understood that certain actions, such as an unreasonable arrest or detention, are illegal. Law enforcement officials that actively practice various forms of misconduct can find themselves in violation of several laws – and facing a civil personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. The Los Angeles police misconduct injury attorneys at JML Law would like to further explain what actions are considered misconduct by law enforcement, while also discussing recent occurrences of police misconduct.

Police misconduct occurs often

According to a recent Los Angeles news article, an 18-year-old male of El Salvadorian heritage was killed in a situation of alleged police misconduct and violence.

From reports, Andres Guardado was shot six times by police officers for allegedly running from them and holding a handgun. However, reports have uncovered that the victim was working as a security guard for an autobody shop that night. The shop, according to the boy’s family members, had recently had issues with people “tagging” the building.

The shop’s owner says that police showed up and pulled their guns on the Guardado. The shop owner said the boy ran because he was scared. “He’s got a clean background and everything. There’s no reason,” said the shop owner.

A protest was held as a result of Guardado’s death. Law enforcement used tear gas to disperse protestors.

How does police misconduct affect you

Despite the reports made by authorities in order to justify certain actions of misconduct, there are certain situations in which an individual is unreasonably arrested or a victim of misconduct. There are several different methods of misconduct that occur. This can include:

  • Unlawful Arrest: An officer is required to have probable cause that they suspect a crime is being committed, or that a crime is about to occur, in order to make an arrest. However, an unlawful arrest is not uncommon and can occur when an officer abuses their ability to carry out an arrest, had unreasonable justification for suspicion, or carried out an arrest of an individual that was innocent of an arrestable offense.
  • False Imprisonment: Any restraint on a person without justification from the law amounts to false imprisonment since an officer is required to have reasonable assumptions for an arrest. In the instance of detention, with the person being fully restrained, there would be grounds for false imprisonment to take place.
  • Assault and Battery: Officers are allowed to carry out their duties with a justified amount of force. However, they can be charged with assault and battery if they use excessive force. The determination of excessive force results from evaluating various factors, such as the crime’s severity, the officer’s intent, any suspicion of resistance, or the safety of the officer.
  • Malicious Prosecution: To prove that an instance of malicious prosecution has happened, you would have to establish that there was no probable cause for you to prosecuted and that they had a wrongful motive bringing charges in the first place.

Let us get started on your case

If you or somebody you care about has experienced injury from the unreasonable or malicious misconduct of law enforcement, seek assistance from an attorney as soon as possible. As JML Law, our attorneys are prepared to thoroughly investigate every aspect of your case in order to secure the maximum compensation you are entitled to. This can include damages such as:

  • Compensatory Damages: Such as the loss of recent income or benefits, damaged property, possible loss of future wages, and other similar damages.
  • Aggravated Damages: This will factor in when the authorities or an officer intentionally acts in a malicious or improper way.
  • Exemplary Damages: If an officer’s conduct towards you has been an unconstitutional or oppressive, these damages are meant to deter any further wrongdoing from occurring.

When you need a Los Angeles police misconduct injury attorney, you can contact us by clicking here for a free consultation of your case or by calling us at 818-610-8800.

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