How Do I Sue the Police for Violating My Civil Rights in NYC?

This guide explains how to sue the police for violating your civil rights in NYC.

If the NYPD violated your civil rights, contact Cody Warner, P.C. for a free consultation. We are NYC criminal lawyers who know all the details about police misconduct in the City. We can assess your case and help you get justice.

Common Civil Rights Claims Against the NYPD

Before you sue the police for violating your civil rights, you need to make sure you have an actionable legal claim. The most common civil rights claims against the NYPD are:

False Arrest

Generally speaking, a false arrest occurs when the police arrest you without probable cause.

Malicious Prosecution

You can bring forward a malicious prosecution claim when you are prosecuted for a crime, and the officer who arrested you knew that the prosecution against you was not supported by probable cause.

Excessive Force

Also known as police brutality, you can sue the NYPD for excessive force if they police used force against you that was unreasonable. You can sue for excessive force even if you committed a crime. For example, if you committed theft at a store but the police beat you up when you were not a threat, you may have a winning excessive force claim.

Find an NYC Civil Rights Lawyer

Selecting your lawyer is the most important step you will take when suing the police for violating your civil rights. The reason for this is two-fold.

First, your lawyer is going to take charge of your case. Once you select your lawyer, you will not have much work to do. Your lawyer will deal with investigating the case, gathering paperwork, filing the lawsuit, conducting legal research, negotiating, exchanging evidence, filing legal motions, and conducting trial. Although you will participate in your case at times—such as during depositions or trial—your lawyer will be doing the vast majority of what needs to be done for you.

Second, because your lawyer is going to be leading your case, the quality of your legal representation is critical to the outcome of your case. In other words, the settlement offers or trial verdicts you receive will be the direct result of the advocacy of your lawyer.

When searching for a lawyer to sue the police for violating your civil rights, you should select a lawyer with experience handling police misconduct cases, such as false arrest and police brutality. Importantly, you should select a lawyer whom you trust. Ultimately, you must rely on your lawyer’s advice about what your wrongful arrest case is worth. If you don’t trust your lawyer, then you will likely feel unsatisfied with the outcome of your case, even if you receive fair compensation.

File a Notice of Claim

In New York City, you must file a notice of claim with the City’s Comptroller Office within 90 days of the incident. The lawyer you select will do that on your behalf.

To be clear, you can still sue the police for violating your constitutional rights so long as you do so within three years of the incident. However, if you file the notice of claim within 90 days of the incident, you can bring additional claims under New York law that can strengthen your lawsuit.

The 90-day window for wrongful prosecution claims begins when the case is dismissed, not when you were arrested. Therefore, you can file a timely notice of claim for malicious prosecution even if your arrest was more than 90-days ago, so long as you file the notice of claim within 90 days of dismissal.

After a notice of claim is filed, you will participate in a hearing, known as a 50h hearing, where you will testify about what the police did to you to violate your civil rights.

Commence Lawsuit

After the 50h hearing, your lawyer can file the lawsuit in court. Sometimes, the City will settle the claim before your lawyer files the lawsuit.

Once a lawsuit is filed, your lawyer will serve the defendants with the lawsuit. The defendants must then file their answer to the complaint.

Exchange Evidence

After the lawsuit is filed, the next step is that the parties exchange evidence. The legal term for this phase is called “discovery.” The discovery process includes providing relevant information to the opposing party. Additionally, you will testify again in your deposition, which is when lawyers for the City will ask you questions about what happened.

At the end of the discovery process, the City may file motions in effort to get the case dismissed.

Go to Trial

Once all the evidence is exchanged, your case can be adjourned for trial. Sometimes the City will agree to a settlement for the police misconduct on the eve of trial.

If your case goes to trial, your NYC civil rights lawyer will present evidence to the jury and argue why you are entitled to compensation. If the jury reaches a verdict in your favor, then you are entitled to receive the compensation the jury awards you.

Want to sue the NYPD? Contact Cody Warner, P.C.

If you want to explore suing the NYPD for police misconduct, contact Cody Warner, P.C. for a free consultation. We can assess your case and determine the best path forward to get you justice. We take cases on a contingency basis. That means you pay nothing out of pocket. We only get paid if you get paid.