Witnessing or being the victim of police misconduct can be an upsetting experience. However, in order to move ahead, it is important to set your emotions aside as you take steps to address the misconduct. These steps may include consulting an assault and battery lawyer.

Document everything:

As soon as possible after the incident occurs, you should document everything you remember. You can use this documentation if you visit a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles or police abuse lawyers in Los Angeles. This documentation should be done in a methodical way by writing everything down that you can remember about the incident. Be as accurate and specific as possible. Include the date, time of day and description of the police officer and any other people involved. Only include facts you are certain about since errors could be used against you even if they are innocent mistakes. Where possible, write down direct quotes. If you cannot remember direct quotes, note what was said as accurately as you can but do not make it appear you are quoting directly.

Talk to an attorney:

If you were arrested in the course of the incident, getting an attorney is a necessity. If you were not arrested, our police abuse lawyers in Los Angeles may still be able to help you decide whether you have a case that is worth taking to civil court. Your documentation and presenting yourself in a calm and coherent manner may help convince our personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles that your case is worth pursuing. An attorney will usually make a decision based on the strength of the evidence of misconduct.

Filing a report:

At some point, you can also file a police misconduct report, but if you are going to court, you should wait to do this until all civil and criminal issues have been resolved. Otherwise, you may provide information to the police in the report that you are not prepared to share with them. Your jurisdiction will have one or more places that complaints can be filed and a procedure for doing so. Do not discuss the report with police if you must visit a police station in order to file the report. Keep copies of the report and submit copies to the ACLU and NAACP if applicable. These steps may not always lead to action against the police officer, but they will create a paper trail if there are future complaints.