Even with police body cameras, vehicle cameras, and cell phone videos taken by witnesses, police brutality is a major problem in the United States. Too many officers seem to believe that they alone are judge and jury when they should be protecting the rights of every citizen, including criminal suspects. If you’ve been a victim of police brutality in Suburban Maryland, you deserve to be compensated for your pain and suffering.
Experienced personal injury attorneys at Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis, LLP have been handling and winning police brutality and shooting cases for decades. Contact us today to learn more about your legal options after being victimized in a police shooting or police brutality incident.
Video Evidence Proves Police Brutality in Suburban Maryland
Police officers are granted limited rights to restrict liberty when necessary to protect others and to enforce the law. But this doesn’t mean that officers have the right to restrict liberty whenever they feel like it — they must be constantly cognizant of the rights possessed by all citizens, particularly those accused of a crime.
When a police officer violates your rights, you’re usually eligible to receive compensation either directly from the police officer or, more likely, from the government agency that employs them. To get this compensation, you’ll need to prove your case in court, which requires abundant evidence.
Luckily, with the advent of modern technology, that evidence is easier to acquire today than it has been at any other point in history.
While police body cameras won’t be mandatory for police officers in Maryland until July 1, 2023, they’re already prevalent throughout the state. Police body camera footage is often the first piece of evidence an attorney will subpoena in a police brutality case. If it provides clear evidence of brutality, the likelihood of compensation is high.
Body cameras aren’t the only ones police officers use. Most police cruisers come equipped with dashboard cameras facing outward from the vehicle’s front. Dashcam footage can also be used to make your case if the brutality happened in the camera’s line of sight.
Finally, nearly everyone with a smartphone has a working video camera. And as stories of police brutality become more common, concerned citizens are more likely to document police interactions. Your attorney can use that footage to prove that the police violated your rights.
Suburban Maryland Police Brutality Evidence When Video Footage Doesn’t Exist
But just because the world is filled with cameras doesn’t mean there will always be video evidence of your interactions with the police.
Your attorney can still collect evidence the old-fashioned way when video evidence doesn’t exist. If there are witnesses to the incident, your lawyer will interview them as quickly as possible to ensure their memory doesn’t fade and shield them from harassment or intimidation by police.
Your attorney will also investigate the discipline record of the police officer that assaulted you. Police brutality is rarely a one-time act. Typically, the same officers engage in police brutality over and over again. When there’s a pattern of abuse, the officer’s disciplinary record usually reflects it.
How to Deal With Police Harassment
Sadly, police brutality is often a result of discrimination or bigotry. Depending on the demographic categories you fall into, an officer could threaten, harass, or intimidate you before escalating their behavior to violent police brutality.
Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis can help you deal with police harassment before it transforms into police brutality, or, worse, a shooting. Our attorneys will investigate your claims and, if they can be verified, take legal action before any further mistreatment can occur.
We may be able to get you a court order of protection. Even if we can’t, by reporting your concerns to the court and the police department that employs the police officer, we’ll have created a record that can be used as evidence in a later lawsuit.
If you’re being harassed by a police officer in Maryland, you can’t afford to do nothing. Harassment almost always leads to more objectionable behavior. And if you show restraint and refuse to resist or stand up for your rights while being harassed, your harasser may take it as an indication that you won’t do anything if they exhibit worse behavior.
Don’t ignore harassment. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your rights — and by extension, the rights of others — are being shown proper consideration and respect.
Contact Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis Today for Representation in a Police Brutality or Shooting Case
If you or a loved one has been a victim of a police shooting or police brutality incident in Maryland, you deserve compensation for having your Constitutional rights violated. Reach out to the personal injury lawyers at Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about your options.