In New York State and elsewhere, the law places limits on the level of force that the police may use in their jobs. When they use a level of force that exceeds reasonable limits, they risk violating someone’s civil rights. In New York City, a victim who suffers injuries at the hands of the police can sue the NYPD for police brutality.
The attorneys at the New York law firm of Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, P.C. appreciate the challenges that the police face every day. However, we also believe that everyone’s civil rights should be protected against overzealous law enforcement. We help individuals who have been victims of NYPD police brutality to recover the largest available compensation for the injuries that they have suffered at the hands of the police.
Police brutality includes many types of excessive conduct
An experienced New York City civil rights lawyer will tell you that many types of excessive conduct by law enforcement can rise to the level of police brutality, including:
- Excessive use of tear gas, pepper spray, or water cannons
- Physical beatings
- Verbal harassment
- Racial profiling
- Property damage
- Police shootings
- Overuse of tasers and restraining devices
- Deprivation of food or water during detention
These and other types of police misconduct are all human rights violations. This behavior gives the injured party a right to file a police brutality lawsuit against the NYPD and the individual officer who deprived them of their rights.
You need to act quickly to file an NYPD police brutality lawsuit
If you believe you have a good reason to file a police brutality lawsuit, you must first submit a Notice of Claim to the correct city officials within ninety days. Your Notice must include details of what happened and identify all individuals responsible for your injuries. Failure to file a correct Notice of Claim will be cause to dismiss your lawsuit. Further, a lawsuit must be filed within one year and ninety days after the incident.
Many victims of police brutality might be discouraged from filing a lawsuit by family or friends. They may believe that you can never win a lawsuit against the NYPD. Rather than following their advice, your better course of action is to confer with a knowledgeable and experienced NYPD police brutality lawyer. They can evaluate your situation and provide a professional assessment of your opportunity to recover damages for violations of your civil rights. Your lawyer will need time to conduct a thorough investigation. Therefore, you should retain legal counsel as soon as possible to meet the filing deadlines.
You can recover substantial damages for your NYPD police brutality injuries
Every year, New York City pays hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to victims of police misconduct. Depending on the facts of your case, you may be able to recover compensation for your:
- Hospital bills and other medical expenses
- Wages you lost while recovering from injuries caused by the police
- Pain and suffering, and mental anguish
- Attorney fees
In extreme cases where police brutality is deemed to be intentional or grossly reckless, you might also recover punitive damages. These are awarded to penalize the perpetrators of your injuries and to discourage them from similar future conduct.
Contact Us to File a Police Brutality Lawsuit
At Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb & Green, we fight to protect the civil rights of all individuals who have suffered serious mistreatment at the hands of the police department. We respect the efforts of the majority of law enforcement personnel to protect the city’s residents from crime. However, we also believe that those efforts are best served when the department is held accountable for the brutality of its few bad actors.
Please call our Manhattan offices after you have suffered injuries at the hands of the NYPD for a no-fee consultation with one of our lawyers. We will provide a fair and straightforward explanation of your right and opportunity to sue the NYPD for police brutality. If you retain our services and we accept your case, we will fight tirelessly to recover the largest available damages to compensate for your injuries and violations of your civil rights.
