Police Brutality : My son was exercising visitation with his daughter; there were NO legal custody papers at the time. A sheriff deputy came to the house, told my son he had to give the child to the mother. Witnesses say my son didn't say a word but turned and walked back inside the house. As he turned to go back in the house the deputy grab him from behind, punched him 3 times, pushed his head onto a 4x4 post, threw him to the ground, handcuffed and arrested him. I tried to get my son out of jail that night; I took 3 witnesses with me stating my son had done nothing wrong, he hadnt even spoke a word. The jailer refused to release him until the next morning. I have pictures of some scratches and a black/blue eye. In the weeks that followed my son was charged with disorderly conduct which was later dismissed due to 'in the best interest of justice'. We file a complaint about the assault but the County Attorney did nothing with filing charges against the officer. Several months later the deputy was fired for aggressive behavior. Do we have a good case against the county? And how do we find a good attorney to take it?

Suing Law Enforcement and Finding a Lawyer: First of all I hope your son is alright and doesn’t hold this against all law enforcement. One bad apple can spoil an entire department. Based on what you have reported I do believe your son has a case for false arrest, excessive force and assault and battery. (In Constitutional language it’s called excessive force a part of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The popular name is police brutality.) The tough part will be finding a lawyer willing to take the case due to the amount of damages not being very great or sufficient to make the case economically feasible.

You should understand that the County Attorney is nothing more than a politician who is protecting the County from civil liability. If you really want justice then work for his ouster during the next election. The deputy is already fired so some justice has been done.

I’ve tried a case just like this one. It was in Burlington, Iowa and the officer and City were found liable to my client. My client’s injuries were much more extensive, although he had no broken bones, ruptured disc or brain injury. He was awarded $33,500.00 in compensatory damages and the city and officer were slapped with a $100,000.00 punitive damage award.

In another case my client was beaten by the Des Moines Police Department and that case was settled for $100,000.00. He suffered much more than a few scratches.

The point is you need quite a bit of physical damage and evidence to make these cases worth the time and money it takes to litigate them. And you need good solid witnesses, a fact prevalent in each of the two cases noted above.

In defense of the police I will say they have a tough job under extremely dangerous conditions. I don’t offer this to justify the deputy’s actions just to help you and your son put the bigger picture in perspective. I can tell you’re angry and it’s justified. Unfortunately that and $3.50 will get you a cup of Joe at the local Starbucks; and nothing more. This might be a case where you’re better off just forgiving and moving on. It appears to me you are both better people than this officer ever will be and that justice has been done with his being fired. I’m putting more on my law firm website blog, The Verdict, for you to read.

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