Police Misconduct Lawyer Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Police officers generally have broad powers to carry out their duties. However, their power is not without a limit. The Constitution and state laws place limits on how far police can go in trying to enforce the law. Sometimes police officers cross the line of reasonable force and violate the rights of citizens. Fortunately, the civil rights laws are designed to protect citizens from abuses by government, including police misconduct, and allow the victim to recover compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees as incentives to enforce their rights.

Police misconduct is a broad category and includes:

Malicious prosecution

Malicious prosecution occurs when a police officer or a governmental agency instituted a criminal action against the plaintiff without probable cause, with malice and such proceedings terminated in favor of the plaintiff.

False arrest/False Imprisonment

False arrest is confining a person without authority. It is illegal for a police officer to arrest a person without probable cause to believe the individual had committed a crime, and a police officer may be held liable for false imprisonment and ordered to pay damages.

Unreasonable search and seizure

Unlawful search of a person

Intrusive bodily searches

Unlawful search of a home

Improper execution of a warrant

First Amendment Violations

Police misconduct occurs when individual police officers violate plaintiff's First Amendment rights. For example, persons charged with disorderly conduct may have been doing nothing more than engaging in protected expression by challenging police authority; a panhandler's request for handouts is entitled to the same First Amendment protections as is the solicitation of funds by an established charitable organization; and trespass cases may implicate constitutional protections.

Assault and battery

A police officer who intentionally threatens by force to do an injury to a person (assault) and actually inflicts such injury upon a person (battery) may be liable for assault and battery.

Invasion of privacy

Pennsylvania law forbids "intrusion upon seclusion"[1] making it unlawful to intentionally intrude upon the solitude of another person or his/her private affairs.

The law makes it illegal to oversee and overhear private affairs when there is expectation of privacy. Thus, police misconduct occurs when a police officer insists over the plaintiff's objection in entering her/his home or tapping the person's phone wires.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress

A police officer who by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to a person is subject to liability for such emotional distress and for any bodily harm to the other that results from the emotional distress.

Failure to intervene

Officers have a duty to protect individuals from constitutional violations by fellow officers. Therefore, an officer who witnesses a fellow officer violating an individual's constitutional rights may be liable to the victim for failing to intervene.

Personal Injury Lawyer Pennsylvania

Civil rights claims are an important part of our legal system, balancing the duty of law enforcement to uphold the laws, and the rights of individuals to be free from police misconduct. Yet cases against police officers can be difficult. Officers may be immune from suit. Claims against police departments can also be expensive to bring because a lot of evidence must be secured, including records, statements of police, statements of witnesses, and various other documentation, to prove the misconduct. Only an experienced, dedicated police misconduct law firm that has recourses to fully litigate such cases can successfully handle a police misconduct case. If you have been the victim of police misconduct, contact the experienced Pennsylvania police misconduct attorneys at the Lassen Law Firm to discuss your rights. We represent victims of different types of police misconduct. Please call the Lassen Law Firm now to see how we can help.

The Lassen Law Firm only deducts a 29% contingency fee, not the standard 45% like other firms. We serve ALL of Pennsylvania. We can sign you up over the phone and start working on your case today.

Stop Searching. Start Calling. 215-510-6755

Authored by: Christian Lassen