Most of our law enforcement officers work tirelessly and diligently to keep our homes, community, state, and country safe. However, police are people just like the rest of us, and can sometimes make poor choices.
Do you know your rights if you’ve been a victim of police misconduct? Sometimes, police officers can violate your civil rights, such as using excessive or unreasonable force, falsely arresting and imprisoning, and maliciously prosecuting. Although the police obviously have the right to arrest when they reasonably believe that an individual has committed a crime, this does not give them the right to arrest someone without probable cause. Additionally, in the case of excessive force, FindLaw.com’s website states that “If the amount of force was reasonable, it doesn’t matter that the officer’s intentions were bad. But the reverse is also true: if the officer had good intentions, but used unreasonable force, the excessive force claim will not be dismissed.”