Police Brutality Lawyers in Harford, MD

Have you experienced abusive, harassing, or improper behavior from law enforcement officers? Unfortunately, some officers who swear to uphold the law misuse their authority to brutalize people or deprive them of their constitutional rights. A Harford police brutality attorney from Greenberg Law Offices can help you stand up for your rights and interests. We know how to hold Maryland law enforcement and the government accountable for the injuries or harm our clients have suffered due to police misconduct or brutality.

Contact us today for a free initial case evaluation to discuss your legal options.

Why You Should Hire a Harford Police Brutality Lawyer

Law enforcement agencies and local governments may vigorously defend themselves against police brutality or misconduct claims. This is why it’s critical to have experienced legal representation to hold the government accountable for the harm you’ve endured. Why choose a Harford police brutality lawyer from Greenberg Law Offices to advocate for your rights and interests?

• We have over 60 years of experience serving Maryland residents. For three generations, our firm has advocated for the victims of law enforcement agencies and governmental entities that have violated their civil rights.
• Our firm will do whatever it takes to secure justice for you, even if that means going to court and trial to hold police officers accountable for violating your rights.
• We treat our clients like family. Our attorneys like to meet with our client’s loved ones, recognizing that police brutality and civil rights violations affect both victims and the people in their lives.

What Compensation Could I Recover in a Police Brutality Claim?

In a police brutality case, you may have the right to seek financial recovery for expenses or losses you incur due to the deprivation of your rights and physical/mental injuries. Compensation in a police brutality claim can include money for the following:

• Costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation for physical injuries
• Mental health therapy for emotional trauma
• Lost wages/income from missed work or the loss of your job due to a false arrest or prosecution
• Physical pain and anguish from injuries
• Emotional trauma and distress, including PTSD, anxiety attacks, and depression
• Harm to your personal or professional reputation

What Is Police Brutality?

Police brutality commonly refers to police misconduct that involves intentional or malicious deprivation of individuals’ rights. Typical forms of police brutality include the following:

• Intentionally or knowingly employing excessive force against an arrestee or detainee, such as using force against a cooperative suspect or assaulting/battering a defenseless detainee/arrestee
• Using excessive force to retaliate against individuals exercising their rights, such as when police use crowd-control or less-than-lethal devices against peaceful protestors
• Intentionally failing to protect detainees/arrestees against jailhouse assault
• Using other jailhouse inmates to assault detainees/arrestees
• Engaging in sexual assault or harassment, including rape/sexual battery or quid pro quo harassment (e.g., offering to release a detainee/arrestee or cover up a suspect’s crimes in exchange for sexual favors)

Police brutality usually involves a level of culpability by officers beyond an inadvertent or careless violation of an individual’s rights. Instead, officers who engage in police brutality intend to or know their conduct will abuse, harass, assault, or unlawfully retaliate against civilians or detainees/arrestees.

What Are Common Types of Police Brutality and Misconduct in Harford?

Police brutality and misconduct can take many different forms. Some of the most common examples include the following:

• Excessive Force – Police officers may use excessive force when they employ more force than necessary to discharge their duties or protect themselves and the public. Excessive force can take the form of forcefully taking down a cooperative, non-violent suspect, using force to disperse a crowd before ordering the crowd to disperse, or employing deadly force against an unarmed suspect who poses no threat to officers or other individuals.
• False Arrest – A false arrest occurs when the police arrest an individual without an arrest warrant or probable cause to believe they committed a crime. False arrests can stray into police misconduct when officers arrest individuals despite knowing they lack evidence to establish probable cause for the arrest. False arrests may occur as a form of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.
• Sexual Misconduct – Sexual misconduct by police officers may involve sexual assault or harassment of detainees/arrestees, including subjecting them to lewd, offensive, or embarrassing sexual comments, quid-quo-pro sexual harassment, or officers abusing their position of authority to sexually assault detainees/arrestees.
• Falsification of Evidence – Officers may falsify evidence in criminal cases, which can involve conduct such as planting false evidence on a suspect or at a crime scene, altering evidence in police custody, providing false statements or testimony in affidavits or court proceedings, or knowingly withholding or destroying exculpatory evidence (evidence that proves a defendant’s innocence).
• Racial Profiling – Racial profiling occurs when police officers stop, detain, arrest, or charge an individual based solely or primarily on a protected characteristic, such as race, color, ethnicity, national origin, or religious tradition.
• Perjury – Police officers may engage in misconduct by committing perjury, which involves knowingly providing false or misleading testimony under oath. Officers may commit perjury when completing search warrant applications, giving false information to secure a warrant, or when testifying on the state, providing false information to secure the defendant’s conviction.
• Unwarranted Surveillance – Police misconduct can rise to improper harassment when officers undertake unjustified surveillance. Unwarranted surveillance can include police surveillance activities that occur without reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe the target of the surveillance committed a crime or surveillance that unnecessarily harasses or embarrasses the target, such as having officers constantly follow the target in public, repeatedly stop the target, or go to the target’s home during inconvenient hours.
• Unwarranted Search and Seizure – Police activity can stray between deprivation of constitutional rights and misconduct when officers knowingly search people’s persons, vehicles, or homes without adequate probable cause. Police misconduct resulting in unwarranted search and seizure can injure detainees/arrestees, damage their property (such as when police force their way into a bag, vehicle, or home), and cause unnecessary emotional distress or trauma.

What Are Causes of Police Brutality in Harford?

Police brutality and misconduct in Harford and throughout Maryland can occur due to the individual characteristics and motivations of police officers. However, systemic issues with law enforcement departments frequently contribute to police misconduct. Some of the top causes of police brutality and misconduct include:

• Officers’ explicit or inherent biases and prejudices
• Officers who choose to misuse their authority to abuse or harass people
• Inadequate psychological evaluation procedures that would identify officer candidates lacking the temperament for police work (e.g., unnecessary aggressiveness, hot-tempered, “bully” mentality, tendency to abuse authority)
• Inadequate officer training regarding the use of force, de-escalation, crowd control, or suspects’ constitutional rights
• Inadequate supervision by police departments or local government officials
• Deliberate indifference by law enforcement or local government officials to acts of police misconduct or brutality, including failing to investigate citizen complaints or discipline officers for misconduct
• Systemic culture of covering up officer misconduct or “looking the other way,” including officers who encourage or threaten others to “close ranks” during misconduct investigations

What Should I Do If I Was a Victim of Police Brutality in Harford?

When you experience police brutality or misconduct in Harford or elsewhere in Maryland, taking various actions and steps can help protect your rights and interests and put you in a better position to pursue civil claims for the harm and loss you experience due to officers’ misconduct.

Things you should do when you become a victim of police misconduct include the following:

• Do not attempt to fight officers or physically resist an arrest or search. Although you have the right to defend yourself from injury caused by excessive force or malicious assault, interfering with a search or arrest could subject you to additional charges of obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, eluding, or assault of a law enforcement officer.
• Exercise your right to remain silent and consult with legal counsel in police custody. Do not agree to speak to the police or answer questions unless advised to do so by your criminal defense attorney.
• Seek prompt medical attention to document physical or psychological injuries you suffered due to police misconduct or excessive force.
• Document any property damage you sustained due to the police’s actions.
• Keep copies of all bills, invoices, or receipts for medical treatment and property repair/replacement. Gather your pay stubs or income statements if you miss time from work due to a false arrest or malicious prosecution.

Finally, contact a Harford police brutality lawyer from Greenberg Law Offices as soon as possible. We can discuss your legal rights and determine whether you may have a civil rights claim against the police and the government.

What Evidence Could Be Used to Prove a Police Brutality Claim?

Unfortunately, police departments and local governments may seek to conceal evidence of officers’ misconduct or malicious abuse/harassment of civilians. Furthermore, the law offers legal immunity to police officers who engage in some form of misconduct. As a result, victims of police brutality or misconduct can find it challenging to secure the evidence needed to hold the police and local government accountable for officers’ actions.

Examples of evidence you might need to prove a police brutality claim include the following:

Contact a Harford Police Brutality Lawyer Today

If you’ve been the victim of police brutality or misconduct in Harford or across Maryland, you deserve experienced legal advocacy to pursue accountability and justice for your harm and loss. Contact Greenberg Law Offices today for a free, confidential consultation with a Harford police brutality attorney to discuss your legal options.