Understanding Legal Battles

When you have been placed under arrest, you may feel that you have been subjected to much more force than what was necessary. You may even be a victim of police brutality. To make sure that your rights aren't violated, you must know how to properly report the incident. 

Record the Incident

Make sure to write down everything that you experienced. After the incident, you may find it difficult to remember exactly what occurred. If you offer a statement that diverges from the statements made by other witnesses, this can damage your case.

Make sure to write down the time, location, the names of the officers involved, their badge numbers, witnesses, their contact information and anything you said or anything that the officer said. Also, you should write down a description of everything that occurred leading up to the incident of police brutality and the act of brutality.

Seek Medical Attention

Make sure to seek medical attention. In addition to being important for your health, seeking medical attention will also create records with which to defend your version of the events. If the injuries that you sustained were not appropriate given the situation, this can be used as evidence to support your case of police brutality.

Contact the Department

Every police department has a system in place for taking complaints. It is usually the best avenue for getting a police officer fired in the event that he or she is not convicted. Because it is very rare that a police officer is convicted of police brutality, filing an internal complaint is often the best way to go.

Even if the complaint does not lead to the police officer being dismissed, this is still placed in a file. If the police officer has more complaints, this can increase the chances that he or she will be fired. A typical police officer will not receive more than one complaint in a given year, so an officer who is receiving more complaints is usually doing something wrong. 

Filing a Criminal Complaint

When a police officer uses force in a situation where it is not necessary, this is a criminal act. Unfortunately, a grand jury is less likely to indict a police officer than a civilian and a jury is even less likely to convict. Also, a conviction of a police officer is more often overturned. But it is still worth making an attempt, even in extreme cases of police brutality. 

Contact a criminal attorney for more help.