California police misconduct cases can take many forms, ranging from racial profiling to excessive force. A civil rights violation during an investigation or arrest may serve as a defense against any charges you face, and you may have grounds for legal action against the associated officers and police department. Here’s how to file a complaint for police misconduct in California and how the right attorney can help.
Understanding Police Misconduct in California
Under California law, law enforcement officers cannot threaten, intimidate, or coerce you to interfere with your legal rights under the U.S. Constitution, federal or state laws, or the common laws. This law is called the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act.
Federal law also prohibits state and local officers from violating your Constitutional rights “under color of law.” Police officers and agencies violate this law by performing official acts that violate your rights.
These acts do not need to be sanctioned by the police department or the state. Instead, the officer merely needs to take them within the scope of performing their official duties. For example, an officer might violate the department’s excessive force policy and still commit a civil rights violation as long as the excessive force occurred while on duty.
Violations under state and federal civil rights law can cover many types of police misconduct, including:
- Wrongful death
- Unlawful traffic stops
- Wrongful arrest or detention
- Excessive force
- Harassment
- Sexual misconduct
- Deliberate indifference to a health condition, such as denying medical treatment
- Failure to intervene to stop another officer’s misconduct
- A crime committed against you, such as theft, extortion, or soliciting a bribe
- Racial profiling and gender discrimination
You can seek many types of remedies for California police misconduct. These remedies depend largely on your attorney’s evidence of the wrongful or illegal act.
Immediate Steps After an Incident
You need evidence to report police abuse in California. Thus, your actions immediately after an incident could determine whether the officers are held accountable. To document your case for the police complaint process in California, you’ll want to take these steps:
Seek Medical Care
If you were harmed in the incident or even suspect that you could be, make sure to visit a hospital or a doctor’s office for diagnosis and treatment. The doctor can document your injuries in your medical records and may become a valuable witness for your legal case.
Moreover, if you choose to pursue a legal claim, you will need to prove the losses you suffered, including medical costs for current and future care and your income losses due to temporary or long-term disabilities.
Identify Possible Witnesses
Make a list of anyone who may have witnessed the incident. In many cases, bystanders record incidents in public spaces. These video recordings can help prove your claims or disprove the officers’ accounts. Even if there is no video of your incident, witnesses may support your case by testifying about what they saw and heard.
Record Your Recollections
Gather and record as much information as you can, including the time, date, location, and officers’ names. Write down any conversations with officers and supervisors before, during, and after the incident.
Contact a Lawyer
California police misconduct cases are difficult because officers often have broad latitude in using force and coercion to enforce the law. Additionally, officers and agencies may try to conceal misconduct by coordinating testimony and “losing” evidence. Your lawyer can build a case against the officers and seek court orders to preserve evidence of their official abuses of power.
Filing a Complaint With the Local Law Enforcement Agency
California law mandates that every law enforcement agency in the state establish procedures for receiving and investigating citizen complaints. The agency must also publish its procedures for satisfying the California Penal Code 832.5 requirements. For most agencies, you can find the procedures and forms on their websites.
Although the law does not require you to file a local complaint before filing a criminal report or lawsuit, starting with the local agency can have benefits. For instance, the agency can identify evidence and make a preliminary determination about the legality of the actions. If the agency declines to take action, you can still pursue a complaint with the state, file a criminal report, or sue the officers and agency involved.
Likewise, all police officers in California must be certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). If an officer loses their POST certification, they cannot work in law enforcement.
You can file a POST decertification complaint for serious misconduct. If the Commission verifies your complaint, it can effectively end the officer’s career in California.
Completing Your California Police Misconduct Complaint
At the local level, you will need to provide great detail about the incident, even though the agency will likely have evidence of what happened. For example, the complaint form for the Riverside Police Department requests the following information:
- The police report or citation number
- Incident location, date, and time
- The officer’s name and badge number
- Your name, date of birth, and contact information
- The names and contact information of any witnesses
- A description of the incident, including your allegation of California police misconduct
You will need to sign the form for a civilian complaint against police in California before submitting it. Your lawyer can help you lay the groundwork for future actions promoting accountability.
For example, if the local police department does not act on your complaint within a reasonable time, you can file a complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office. This is often a good backup plan because the California Department of Justice police reporting process might provide a more objective investigation of a police misconduct complaint in California.
Involving the District Attorney to Pursue Criminal Charges for Criminal Conduct
If the police officer involved in your incident committed a crime, you can report it to the district attorney or city attorney with jurisdiction over the location. You might refer a police brutality complaint in California to the local prosecutor’s office, for instance. If the prosecutor’s office believes the officer exceeded their authority, they may face assault or other criminal charges.
In many cases, the local prosecutor’s office will recuse its employees from the investigation and prosecution to avoid the appearance of impropriety. However, even if an outside prosecutor is brought in for your case, police officers are often given broad discretion in using coercive tactics, including reasonable force.
How a Civil Rights Attorney Files a Government Claim or Civil Rights Lawsuit
The Tom Bane Civil Rights Act provides two remedies for official misconduct. First, the California Attorney General, the district attorney, or the city attorney can seek a civil penalty from the officers involved. Any civil penalty recovered goes to the victim.
Second, you may have a civil claim against those responsible, including the officers, supervisors, and agencies that violated your rights. You can generally recover the following:
- Actual damages
- Statutory damages of at least $4,000, up to three times your actual damages
- Attorney’s fees
The court can also issue an injunction to block any further action or retaliation against you and declaratory relief to prevent the officers or agencies from using the practice that violated your rights against other community members.
The one warning for a Bane Act claim is that the Government Code 911.2 claim deadline is just six months after the incident. As a result, you must act quickly.
Federal law also gives victims of civil rights abuses the right to sue. Under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, you can file a lawsuit in state or federal court for police misconduct that violated your federal civil rights.
Gathering Evidence and Understanding Investigation Outcomes
Evidence of California police misconduct will often start with eyewitness testimony, including your own testimony. The police department may have dash camera videos, body camera footage, and written incident reports of the encounter. Your lawyer can subpoena this evidence for use in your case.
When it comes to filing a complaint for police misconduct in California, any photos or videos from bystanders can also be beneficial. If you were assaulted, your medical records and your doctor’s testimony can help prove what occurred. Photos of your injuries can also work to persuade a review board or jury of your claims.
During the law enforcement internal affairs process in CA, your allegations can be accepted or denied. If the review board finds misconduct, the officer may face disciplinary action. The board can also find no misconduct in these key ways:
- Frivolous, meaning the complaint was totally without merit
- Unfounded, meaning that the officer did not do what you described
- Exonerated, meaning that the officer acted as alleged, but the acts did not constitute misconduct
Suppose that you filed an excessive force administrative complaint. To prove your case and have the officer disciplined, you must show that the officer used excessive force and that they were not justified in doing so. However, the officer may be exonerated if they used a level of force justified by the circumstances.
Get Help From a Qualified Local Attorney
If you’re searching for “how to file a complaint against a police officer in California,” it’s essential to start with finding the right legal team. Hiring a lawyer who knows how to report police misconduct in California can significantly improve your odds of obtaining a positive outcome.
At Gressley & Donaldson, LLP, our experienced team is committed to providing every client with the best possible representation. Contact us to discuss your case and find out whether it falls under California police misconduct today.
