Toledo Police Misconduct Lawsuit Lawyer

We are taught to trust police officers because they are supposed to have the public’s interest in mind and respect the rights of the individual people living in our country. Unfortunately, not all officers live up to the oaths they take. If you’ve been harmed by the police, you may be able to file a claim against the offending officer or department with the help of a Toledo police misconduct lawsuit lawyer.

You Can Work With Spangenberg Shibley & Liber

Police misconduct cases are notoriously challenging, so you need to work with an experienced Toledo police misconduct lawyer. That’s what you’ll find at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber. Our firm has been in practice since 1946, and in that time, we’ve handled countless police misconduct cases, including several that garnered our clients multi-million dollar settlements. We can assist you with your claim, as well.

Reasons to Hire a Police Misconduct Lawsuit Lawyer

As of 2024, Ohio ranked eighth in the United States for police misconduct cases. A recent report, published the same year, found that there were 4,790 instances of federal officer misconduct reported to the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database in one recent six-year period, but this statistic does not capture the extent of local police forces’ corruption.

If you’re one of the many people who have been harmed by police officers from the Toledo Police Department on Cherry Street or another law enforcement agency, you should know that, in addition to being subject to police misconduct penalties, officers can be held civilly liable for their actions. You can hire a police misconduct lawsuit lawyer to help you file a claim against the relevant authority. Your lawyer can help you:

• Overcome qualified immunity
• Access essential evidence
• Protect your rights
• Navigate the complex legal process
• Protect yourself against retaliation
• Litigate your case in court

Police misconduct cases are notoriously tricky due to officers’ qualified immunity. Hiring a lawyer gives you a better chance of filing a successful claim.

Understanding Qualified Immunity

Police officers are generally considered immune from claims for the performance of their jobs unless they engage in unreasonable conduct. Negligence, or a failure to exercise due care, is not enough to provide evidence of negligence in police misconduct cases.

However, there are ways to overcome qualified immunity in specific instances. Defense attorneys almost always raise a defense of qualified immunity. To overcome this defense, your lawyer needs to show a constitutional rights violation.

Police Misconduct and Civil Rights Laws

Victims of police misconduct often turn to 42 USC 1983 in support of their civil claims. This part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 was intended to prevent oppressive conduct by the government. Section 1983 makes it illegal for any officer acting under the authority of the state to deprive a person of their constitutional rights. The most common claims brought under this law include:

• False arrest. To file a false arrest claim, you argue that the police violated your Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizure. Police officers can arrest people without warrants for crimes committed in their presence.

They can also arrest people with warrants that later turn out to be based on false evidence, as long as the information used by the arresting officer was believed at the time to be true. To successfully file a claim for false arrest, you’ll need to show that the officer lacked probable cause.

• Malicious prosecution. Malicious prosecution claims involve depriving victims of their Fourteenth Amendment right to liberty. To prevail in this type of claim, you’ll have to show that the police officer began a criminal proceeding that ended in your favor with no probable cause and that the proceeding was brought with active malice toward you. As with false arrests, your case will fail if the officer had probable cause.
• Police brutality or excessive force. Excessive force is the form of police misconduct that receives the most media attention. These claims often involve serious injury or death. Whether the amount of force used was reasonable depends on the circumstances, not the officer’s intentions.
• Failure to intervene. Officers are required to protect members of the public from constitutional violations made by other members of law enforcement. If an officer witnesses a fellow officer’s violation of another person’s constitutional rights, they may be held liable for failing to intervene.

You can file your claim in either the state or federal court, depending on its specifics. Your lawyer can help you decide where you should file the claim.

How to File a Successful Police Misconduct Claim

Because they have qualified immunity, it can be very difficult to hold individual police officers responsible for their actions. To file a successful civil rights claim based on police misconduct, your lawyer must prove that:

• The police officer infringed on your constitutional rights.
• The officer’s actions exceeded reasonable bounds.
• An injury or another form of damage, such as wrongful death, occurred as a result.

You must provide evidence that proves the police misconduct. That evidence could include:

• Statements from other law enforcement officials
• Witness statements
• Police records
• Evidence of prior citizen complaints
• Other documentation

You should take photographs of any injuries caused by the police before seeking medical attention for them, and put aside any clothing or items that were destroyed or stained with blood from the incident. Collect witnesses’ contact information, as your lawyer may need to reach out to them during the course of the investigation. You should also write down an account of what happened immediately, while your memories are still fresh.

A Preponderance of the Evidence

Filing a claim against a police officer responsible for misconduct isn’t just about getting you compensated for the harm you’ve suffered. It’s also about holding the officer and the department they work for accountable for the damage they have caused, including violations of citizens’ constitutional rights.

The good news is that the standard is lower in civil court than it is for criminal cases. You don’t need to prove the officer’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. You just need to show that a preponderance of the evidence points to the officer’s guilt.

Cases against police officers can be very complex, even if they seem at first to be relatively straightforward. Even if the police mistreated you and it caused a severe injury, the officer responsible may still be immune from a civil lawsuit. You can improve your chances of a successful outcome in your case by working with a qualified police misconduct attorney.

FAQs

Q: What Can You Do if the Police Don’t Help You?

A: There are several things you can do if the police don’t help you when they should. You can file a complaint with internal affairs or a civilian review board, contact the district attorney, or contact the FBI or Department of Justice regarding serious civil rights violations. You can also seek legal counsel to start a police misconduct case to seek compensation.

Q: What Is the Most Common Form of Police Misconduct?

A: The most common form of police misconduct is excessive force. This form of misconduct usually involves the use of violence or physical aggression beyond what is required to exert control over a potentially dangerous situation. Other common types of police misconduct include false arrests, improper searches and seizures, and sexual misconduct.

Q: Can I File a Claim Against My Local Police Department?

A: You can file a claim against your local police department if an officer in that department exercised excessive force, falsely arrested you, performed an illegal search and seizure, or engaged in sexual misconduct. If your constitutional rights were violated, you may need to file a civil claim under 42 USC § 1983. A Toledo police misconduct lawsuit attorney can help you determine the right way to move forward with your claim.

Q: How Can I Expose a Corrupt Police Officer?

A: Exposing a corrupt police officer requires gathering evidence and reporting the misconduct to the right oversight authorities. You should gather visual and physical evidence of the misconduct, find witnesses, and maintain a log that documents the incident and any additional actions that occur as a result of it.

You should also search for patterns of behavior by looking through public records for disciplinary actions against the officer, then report all of it to an oversight agency.

Your Toledo Police Misconduct Lawsuit Lawyer

The police are supposed to serve and protect the public, but sometimes, corrupt police officers engage in conduct that does harm to people instead. When that’s the case, you can work with a Toledo police misconduct lawsuit lawyer to file a claim against the offending officer and hold them accountable for any wrong done.

You can trust the team here at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber to help you file your police misconduct claim. We have represented both the victims of misconduct and the surviving family members of people killed as a result of improper police actions.

We were able to secure a $4 million settlement for the wrongful death of a 62-year-old man who was restrained and pepper-sprayed to death. * However, past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits. No matter how serious your claim is, we can help. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation today.

*Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.