Police brutality is a frequent topic of interest in the media. However, many people believe these types of situations rarely occur. Unfortunately, police brutality is a larger problem than just having a few “bad eggs” in the police force. Oftentimes excessive force and police brutality issues arise due to poor training of police officers by their departments. Accidents happen when professionals do not properly know how to handle a situation. On this page, learn more about police brutality and how this problem arises in Danbury, Connecticut.
What is Police Brutality?
Police brutality happens when a police officer or government official uses excessive force or unreasonable force on other people. Excessive force occurs in any situation where a government official who is allowed to use force against other people uses too much force for that situation. A police officer is allowed to use force, but this force must be reasonably necessary. In simpler terms, force is allowed if a situation requires it. Excessive force occurs when there is no reason for force, or the force used by the government official escalated to an inappropriate level.
How to Get Help
If you are a victim of police brutality, then your constitutional and civil rights have been violated. If this happens, there are a few ways in which you can seek justice.
First, you might consider filing a complaint with the United States Department of Justice. The Department of Justice might investigate your situation to help you.
A second option is to file a civil rights complaint. This can be done under section 1983 of the United States Code.
Police Brutality in Danbury, Connecticut
In recent years, there have been several police brutality situations in Danbury. Here are some more details about these cases:
- An individual brought a 1983 civil rights claim against the City of Danbury and individual Danbury police officers for use of excessive force and other constitutional violations. Kramer v. City of Danbury, No. 3:07cv01749, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155226, at *1 (Jan. 22, 2010). The plaintiff alleges that he was handled with extreme force after being arrested while in the holding cell because he would not sit down on the bench and was pacing. This source claims that when the plaintiff was finally brought to the hospital the next day, he was diagnosed with a concussion and lacerations that needed stitches. The Connecticut Federal District Court dismissed the claims against the City and certain police officers. But, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff to move forward with his case of excessive force, failure to intervene, and other civil rights claims against a few of the other officers.
- In 2014, a man brought a case of police brutality against a Danbury police officer for causing him to go down to the ground while handcuffed. The article linked in the previous sentence claims that this resulted in a trip to the emergency room with chipped front teeth. The City decided to pay the individual a five-figure settlement in exchange for dropping the lawsuit after the police officer had been fired for the incident. According to the source, this was the police officer’s second incident that caused a settlement by the city in his 19-year career.
- In 2013, four Danbury police officers were facing disciplinary hearings for a traffic stop where they allegedly abused an immigrant.
Getting Help
Police brutality is a serious situation. If you want to find out if an issue you faced constitutes police brutality, contact our office. We can review your situation and get you help.