In today’s political climate, there is no denying that some members of the police force make mistakes, and some act maliciously. This can lead to false arrests for innocent New Yorkers. An experienced NYC false arrest lawyer at Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, P.C. can help you if you have been held in custody without probable cause.
What Makes an Arrest Legal?
To legally arrest you, New York City police must meet at least one of the following elements:
- They have a warrant for your arrest
- They have probable cause to reasonably believe that you committed or are committing a specific crime
- They have good reason to believe that you are a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime
- You interfere with a legitimate arrest or police investigation
How to Prove a Wrongful Arrest Claim
If you are arrested, and none of these four elements are met, a skilled lawyer in NYC may be able to help you file a false arrest lawsuit. To recover for your damages, you will need to prove each of the following:
- The police officer intended to arrest you
- The person was conscious of the arrest
- You did not consent to it
- Your arrest was not privileged in some manner. An arrest may be privileged if you are guilty of the charge or the officer had probable cause.
False Arrest May Be Committed by People Other Than the Police
While many cases of false arrest involve the police, an experienced NYC civil rights lawyer knows that they may also involve the following:
- A private security firm may accuse you of shoplifting and illegally detain you
- Someone makes an false accusation against you. It has zero truth to it with the sole intent of having you arrested
- A bounty hunter who exceeds what the law allows– to pursue and detain you against your will– outside the permitted jurisdiction
Important Documents
Your Civil Rights Attorney in New York will examine the following documents when suing NYPD for false arrest. These are completed by the arresting officer, and may include an Arrest Report, a UF-61 Complaint Report, a Criminal Complaint, Property Vouchers, a Stop and Frisk Report, and documentation of the arrest in the officer’s memo book.
An experienced false arrest attorney is best positioned to understand how to request, obtain, read, and interpret these documents to build your claim. Therefore, it is crucial that you hire the right attorney to represent you and help prove that you were a victim of police brutality or wrongful conviction.
Disturbing Statistics Published by the ACLU
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New York, there were some disturbing trends and statistics when it comes to the racial disparity of who gets stopped:
- Between 2014 and 2017, Black and Latino males between the ages of 14 and 24 comprised only 5 percent of NYC’s total population
- This group of young males accounted for 38 percent of the reported stops
- These young men were innocent 80 percent of the time
- An officer is only allowed to frisk someone they stop if they reasonably suspect that that person is carrying a weapon or evidence of a crime. However, 66 percent of stops in this period led to frisks, and over 93 percent did not turn up any weapons
- Blacks and Latinos were more likely to be frisked than whites, and among those that were frisked, were less likely to be found with a weapon
Do Not Delay
If you believe you have been a victim of false arrest, please note that time is of the essence when it comes to pursuing justice. In New York City, you must file a “Notice of Claim” with the municipality within 90 days. This is true in most jurisdictions. If you fail to meet this deadline, you may lose your legal rights to seeking justice for this claim. An experienced false arrest attorney will help ensure that this doesn’t happen.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
At Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, P.C., we have been standing up for justice here in New York for more than half a century, and we are dedicated to recovering the full and fair amount of damages for all of our clients. We help maximize our false arrest clients’ financial compensation for their physical, emotional, economic, and punitive damages.
If you think you have been the victim of false arrest, call us 24/7 to schedule a cost-free consultation. You will not pay any legal fees unless you win your case.
