South Carolina Attorney for Police Brutality Claims
Putting our trust in law enforcement is a foundational element of our criminal justice system. Nevertheless, some law enforcement community members abuse the trust we afford them, and citizens often end up paying the price. While there are important constitutional rights and protections in relation to police brutality and excessive force in place, this is an especially complex area of the law, and working closely with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Spartanburg is key.
The Responsibility of the Police
Police officers in South Carolina – and throughout the nation – are entrusted with a duty to serve and protect all citizens, which extends across all circumstances. When the police make an arrest, they are tasked with using only the amount of force necessary to accomplish all the following:
- Defuse the situation
- Make the arrest
- Protect themselves and others from harm
This begins with basic verbal and physical restraint and should only increase from there if the situation requires it.
Assessing the Context
Police officers must assess each unique situation and tailor their responses to it. Officers who head straight to force without carefully considering whether it’s necessary to engage in abuse of force.
Understanding the Goal
Every police officer’s goal is to regain control of the situation as quickly as possible while protecting community members, and force should be reserved as a last option. When other practices prove ineffective, force may be required to restore safety. If force is used and the detainee suffers harm in the process, the police are required to get them the medical care they need and to notify their family members.
Police Brutality
When the police engage in abusive treatment of the citizens they’re charged with protecting, they cross the line into police brutality, and it doesn’t always relate to violent crimes. There are several highly publicized cases verifying that police brutality can happen in any of the following situations:
- During traffic stops
- At sobriety checkpoints
- During protest marches
- In police detention
Police brutality can take all the following dangerous forms against detainees:
- Unnecessary or excessive force
- False arrests
- Use of chokeholds
- Verbal abuse
- Beatings
- Intimidation
- Threats of violence
- Sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or rape
- Inappropriate use of nightsticks, pepper spray, or tasers
- Force or coercion related to confessions
- Unnecessary strip searches
- Inappropriate use of police dogs
- Abuse of inmates
The police officers who serve our communities are also obligated to help prevent the excessive use of force by their peers and to intervene whenever they witness police brutality. This is referred to as accountability, and when officers turn a blind eye, they make future police brutality more likely.
Turn to an Experienced Excessive Force Attorney in South Carolina
Monier Abusaft is a formidable police brutality attorney at The Law Office of Mo Abusaft in Spartanburg, SC. He’s earned an impressive reputation for his unwavering defense of those who’ve been victimized by police brutality. We’re here for you, too, so please don’t delay contacting us online or calling us at 864-606-8941 for more information today.