Allegations of police brutality often involve claims of excessive force during an arrest, traffic stop, or other encounter with law enforcement. When someone is injured or believes their constitutional rights were violated, one of the most pressing questions is whether they can take legal action against the officer or the department involved. In New Jersey, […]
How Police Misconduct Can Directly Impact Criminal Charges When police officers violate a person’s constitutional rights, the consequences can extend far beyond internal discipline or civil complaints. In New Jersey, police misconduct can directly affect whether criminal charges move forward at all. Illegal searches, unlawful arrests, excessive force, and coerced statements can weaken or completely […]
Police officers in New Jersey are entrusted with enforcing the law and maintaining public safety, but that authority is not unlimited. When law enforcement officers abuse their power or use force that goes beyond what is reasonable, their conduct may qualify as police brutality. These cases are serious because they involve violations of constitutional rights […]
Since 2000, at least 540 people in New Jersey have died during an encounter with the police. Researchers found that 500 of these incidents occurred with officers on duty and 40 happened with off-duty officers. Nationally, estimates indicate that at least 30,000 people have died during encounters with police since 2000. A study from “The […]
Police officers must do more than enforce the law. They must follow it. Law enforcement officials who engage in abusive behavior could face disciplinary actions and civil and possibly criminal complaints. The public likely realizes that some police officers might engage in unlawful or unconstitutional behavior, but few may realize the scope. In New Jersey […]
Body-cam videos reveal extensive information about a crime that is in progress. A video shows what the suspect was doing at the start of the encounter, how the police officer reacted and what the results were. Although it’s meant to mitigate bad behavior from officers, some individuals decide to view their body-cam videos before writing […]
A popular topic of conversation of late is qualified immunity and how it impacts police officers. There are many misconceptions about what this actually means and how it can help people who believe that they have had their rights violated by the police. Furthermore, every state, including New Jersey, has different laws surrounding the topic. […]
Whether you are in New Jersey or elsewhere in the nation, having a police officer ask you to pull over to the side of the road can be an unnerving experience. You might be aware of something you have done wrong, such as exceeding the speed limit or allowing a broken taillight to go unfixed. […]
The reason that we feel anger is because it’s a natural response. When you feel threatened in some way, anger powers an aggressive and often selfish mindset. For most people, this is a common response even to a mild issue — like getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work. The problem […]
It seems that, all too often, police officers rush to take aggressive action to resolve a situation. They see everything as a conflict. They may even escalate tensions as they try to get people to comply. This is the wrong approach, some experts claim, saying that officers should focus instead on de-escalation. They should try to […]
