Civil Rights/False Arrest

We entrust the police with our safety, and when it is abused, we feel like we have no one to turn to for help or justice. Iit can be a scary experience to have your rights abused by the people who are supposed to be the ones protecting them.

Police officers are not above the law. They cannot legally arrest or detain you simply because they want to, or because of your race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or the way you dress. Neither can other types of law enforcement officers, security guards, store managers, or anyone else, for that matter.

Wrongful arrest, also referred to as false arrest or unlawful arrest, is the restraint of a person's movement or liberty without proper legal authority. Wrongful arrest is a subcategory of false imprisonment .

We are protected from wrongful arrest and wrongful imprisonment by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution . The Fourteenth Amendment states, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law."

A law enforcement officer must have probable cause and/or a warrant to arrest you. The Fourth Amendment requires that "No Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation." If an officer knowingly presents false information in order to obtain an arrest warrant, it is still a wrongful arrest, even though there is a warrant.

A security guard must also have probable cause to detain you on suspicion of a crime and may not detain you for an unreasonable amount of time.

42 U.S.C. §1983, is the United States law which holds people, acting under the authority of the state, liable for damages caused when violating your Constitutional rights. This is the law under which you are able to seek compensation for wrongful arrest by police officers and, in some cases, security guards. There are also state laws which specifically prohibit wrongful arrest.

If you believe that you are the victim of wrongful arrest, you must act quickly. Time limits, called statute of limitations, prevent you from pursuing your case if you wait too long to get started.

Even when false arrest is a genuine mistake, you may still be entitled to compensation for the damage it has caused. If you have been wrongfully arrested you may be entitled to compensation for: