Keep in mind that illegal searches are a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Texas was swept by huge protests against police brutality last year in the wake of the death of George Floyd. The tragic incident struck a deep chord in Texas as Floyd was a Houston native. The people who took to the streets in Houston, Dallas or Austin had their own grievances as police brutality is far too common in Texas.
If you were a victim of any type of police misconduct, you need to contact the best Texas police brutality lawyers and have them fight for your rights.
What type of cases do police brutality lawyers take on?
Many of the cases police brutality lawyers in Houston have to deal with involve the excessive use of force. Can a police officer use a chokehold or place his knee on a suspect’s neck? In certain cases, they can, but only if they are faced with someone resisting arrest, armed or behaving in a threatening manner. When a suspect is not resisting, he or she has already been subdued or handcuffed, any use of force becomes illegal, and the victim has the right to file a complaint.
It doesn’t matter if you are guilty of some crimes or not, law enforcement agents are there to bring you to justice, not to administer punishment as they see fit.
Police misconduct lawyers can also help you if you were illegally stopped or searched. For instance, if a patrol officer stops you for a traffic rule violation they are allowed to ask for your papers. However, they are not allowed to search your car if you run a red light.
Also, they do not have the right to stop you for no reason. Most of the time, police agents will stop a nice car if they see there’s a black person driving it. The assumption is that the black guy probably stole that car, but this constitutes a clear case of racial profiling.
What can you do if this happens to you?
You have to stop the car if the patrol agent signals you to do so. And you’ll have to present your license and registration. It is important that you keep calm, no matter how infuriating the thing is. You don’t have to answer any of their questions.
Make sure to get the officer’s name and their badge number and ask what police department they work for. If there are any eyewitnesses, get their names and contact numbers. They can be called upon to testify that you did nothing wrong and the police had no right to stop you. Look up a good police misconduct lawyer right away and give them all the information you have so they can start their own investigation.
Keep in mind that illegal searches are a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The police cannot search you, your car or your house without a warrant, or at least without a good reason.
If you are detained against your will, whether or not you’re taken to jail, this is also a violation of the Fourth Amendment. You are entitled to file a civil complaint even if you were not injured during the police intervention and don’t forget that verbal abuse is also a form of police misconduct.
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