Most police officers are kind, respectful servants of the community. It’s not like you see on TV, where you always hear about the bad cop doing something wrong or dangerous. The majority of the police are people you can trust. So what happens when you are mistreated by the police, even when it’s not by one particular individual? What if it is just one person, you don’t want to blame the department but you also want to get some compensation. It’s tricky but it’s something that the law is well equipped to deal with. You just need to know who to contact, what kinds of laws you will be dealing with in part of your defense but also, how you can collect evidence and or ask for evidence from the police themselves.
The modern cop cam
In the modern world, most police officers have a modern cop cam or rather, body cam. These are usually pinned to their chests and this shows their interaction with members of the public. Not to mention, it captures audio, so even if the camera is not on recording video, it may still be recording audio. These are the first things you should ask for when it comes to getting evidence of your mistreatment.
For one thing, the bodycam automatically turns on when movement is detected. So if a cop is sitting in his cop car not moving, it saves battery by turning off. But when he or she moves off and begins to walk or drive, then it turns on. So this means the cop cannot turn it on manually, and this prevents cops from saying they ‘forgot’ to turn on their body cams. Obviously, this would be a way to hide their wrongdoings. However, cops can turn off their body cams, manually. So if this is the case, and a chunk of video or audio is missing, this is a flashing sign that evidence has been tampered with. You should get the body cam footage upon request within a set number of days. The recording may be able to be gotten from the police department or a public service which uploads them daily.
Faulty arrest over DUI claim
Most people know when they are drunk. Most people know they shouldn’t drive if they are drunk. However things get grey sometimes. Maybe you just had one drink. In all honesty, you shouldn’t really be doing that but hey, maybe you went out with some colleagues after work and had one for the sake of socializing with the boss outside of work. Now you are driving home.
A cop pulls you over for something minor, maybe your seat belt isn’t on, your lights are too bright or not on, or maybe you didn’t stop at the sign. Whatever it is, they could pull you over and without reason give you a breath test. They can do all sorts of things that would give them a false positive. They could not take into account your breathing pattern, and say you are not breathing into the machine properly. Or it could be that alcohol lingering in your mouth gives off a false positive. Your body temperature can also affect the machine and your breathing.
Not to mention, the machine itself might be faulty, might be in need of repairs, maintenance or just old. There are tons of ways you can get arrested for a false DUI. You should speak with a lawyer about this and see if they can find out who the officer was, their equipment and why you were charged when you know you only had one.
Not given the basics
Okay so you did something stupid and got fairly arrested. That doesn’t mean you should take whatever they throw at you. You have rights even as someone in custody. They should be giving you the basics and in a timely fashion.
A night at any police station is never a welcome thought. But, if you are arrested, you need to know the law and what you can ask for. You can always ask for a lawyer before you say, write or sign anything while in the custody of the police. They are not the judge, court, jurors, etc. They just implement the law and they wait for others to do the deliberations. S you need to hold onto your silence and never feel intimidated to say anything to the cops.
That doesn’t mean they can give you the silent treatment too. They have to adhere to requests of food, water, and decent items for sleeping such as a blanket and pillow. You should never be denied access to the bathroom either. If you have special medication, then you should be able to take them upon request immediately. They have police work to do, yes, but that doesn’t mean they can neglect your needs, even if you have been justly arrested.
In the back
Sitting in the back of a police car while handcuffed is a far from ideal experience. However, the police officer has to make sure you are being treated fairly. You are technically in custody. There are two types, one with the police officer in handcuffs, i.e. detained and the other is at the police station in formal custody.
The same rules apply. The cop has to give you water and if you need medication, then they can give you what you need from your possessions in your pockets, the car or house. They also have to give you water if you need it. If it’s too hot, they must put on the air conditioning or put the window down. If any of this is not followed, you can file a complaint and or sue. They have reverse dashcam footage which you can use to bolster your case.
You should never forget that you have rights that cannot be violated. The police may overlook them unintentionally, but that is still an offense which the state will have to end up paying.