As the International Business Times highlighted earlier this month, injury cases involving police misconduct—ranging from false arrest to serious police brutality —are growing rapidly at the moment. More and more people documenting abuse at the hands of the police—as well as the promise of settlements—are contributing to the rise.
In particular, according to a study conducted by the Wall Street Journal, the 10 largest police departments in the country paid close to $250 million (combined) in 2014—an increase of close to 50 percent since 2010. Those filed against the New York Police Department alone rose over 70 percent between 2004 and 2013, with the Eric Garner case resulting in the largest NYPD-related wrongful death settlement in history.
The Case of Louisiana
More and more alleged victims are less fearful of reporting violence, particularly given the proliferation of phones with video capabilities; and Louisiana is no stranger to this violence. In 2005 alone, there were several cases of innocent bystanders being shot to death and even a cover up by the New Orleans Police Department. More recently, the family of a young Louisiana man whose death was ruled as a suicide while he was in police custody has hired attorneys to press the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the actual circumstances of the case. The circumstances are suspect in this particular case because the victim allegedly died due to a gunshot wound while he was handcuffed, and there is supposedly evidence that he was beaten after being arrested.
Common Claims
The most common claims brought against police officers include:
- the use of unreasonable force: the key word being “unreasonable”; police officers are only authorized to use a reasonable amount of force to restrain a suspect;
- malicious prosecution;
- false arrest/imprisonment; and
- civil rights-related charges such as the use of racial slurs.
Qualified Immunity
Unlike lawsuits against other individuals who inflict physical, emotional, and mental injuries, a particular type of qualified immunity protects police officers in that a lawsuit for police misconduct can only move forward if the officer violated a “clearly established right”; as in, did the officer’s actions comply with what a “reasonable” officer would do? For example, a police officer shooting someone who is unarmed and running away from them and who does not pose a threat to anyone else couldn’t be considered acting unreasonably.
Harrell & Nowak
Personal injuries happen all the time simply because some else was careless in what they did or how they acted. And many of these personal injuries could have been prevented by the wrongdoer simply taking reasonable and common sense steps.
The personal injury attorneys at Harrell & Nowak have helped many victims in New Orleans, Kenner, Metairie, and throughout Louisiana obtain financial compensation for their injuries. Our lawyers will work to ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive a fair recovery if your injury has been caused by some else not being responsible. Contact us today for a free consultation.