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Police Harassment Questions

The police are supposed to make us feel safe and protected. However, many times we find ourselves on the other end of the law and at the receiving end of police harassment. Harassment by the police is difficult to prove, but there are police harassment laws in place to protect you. Lack of clarity about what is considered police harassment and the best legal course of action available to the harassed often result in legal questions that many of us do not have answers to. Below are the top 5 police harassment questions answered by the Lawyers on JustAnswer.

What is the most effective way to voice a police harassment issue?

If and when you feel harassed by the police, filing police harassment complaint may prove fruitless if you do not know the steps to take. The very first thing you should always do is file a harassment complaint against the police officer you feel harassed by, at the police station in the jurisdiction where the police officer is employed. If that doesn’t end the harassment, filing a complaint within the Internal Affairs Bureau is often the best route to take. However, before filing a complaint within the Internal Affairs Bureau, you must note and keep a journal containing every detail of every instance that you feel harassment by the police.

If a police harassment charge filed with the Chief of Police gets no action, what can be done?

If you feel as if you are being ignored even after filing a complaint against police harassment, or feel singled out by the police officer for harassment, you have other options. After sending a certified letter to the chief of police stating your cause, if there is no action taken, you can file a complaint with the State Attorney General’s office or the District Attorney in the county you live in. One other option is to file a Federal Complaint if you feel that your civil rights have been violated by the police. In this case you should speak to a local civil litigation attorney to handle the police harassment case. However, if you have specific questions about your situation that you need clarity on before taking legal action, you can get answers from the Lawyers on JustAnswer.

Are police allowed to break down your door and enter your house every time they have an approval from a judge or is this a form of police harassment?

If a judge has issued a search warrant, the police has the right to enter your house and search the premises within the provisions of the search warrant. As such, as long as there is a valid court order allowing a search by the police, it is not considered police harassment. However, the police can only search the premises within the provisions of the search warrant and normally do not have the right to cause avoidable damage to the property. Depending on the situation, and especially if the police comes up empty-handed after the search, you may be able to file a complaint with the police agency, and/ or the State Attorney General’s office if you feel the police are misusing the provisions of the search warrant and causing harassment. In extreme cases, you may need to speak to an attorney to take legal action against police harassment. Lawyers on JustAnswer can help answer more questions regarding police harassment laws.

Can the police tow a car when a search yields nothing by claiming the person is acting suspicious, or is this police harassment?

The police have a right to tow the car on the account of probably cause of suspicion. However, if they find nothing after a search of the car, this could be an issue of unreasonable search and seizure and can be a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights. In such a situation, you may need to hire a lawyer to file a complaint against the police department for abuse of authority and police harassment. Under normal circumstances, if a search of the car results in nothing, and no tickets are issued, you should not have your vehicle towed. Your lawyer may be able to sue for not only police harassment, but as well as towing fines and punitive damages. Make sure you hire an attorney that knows the police harassment laws, but first make sure that your specific situation gives you valid grounds for claiming police harassment. Lawyers on JustAnswer can answer questions about your situation, quickly and affordably.

Can a police officer issue a ticket outside his jurisdiction and falsify the address and location where a car was pulled over?

If you can prove your exact location when you were pulled up and issued a ticket, and if you are certain that the location is outside the jurisdiction of the police officer, the first thing you should do is contact the police station where that officer is from and complain to the sergeant. Let the sergeant know that his officer was outside his jurisdiction and explain what happened. Provide the sergeant with proof of where you were at that time. Depending on your situation, you may have grounds for discrimination, police harassment, unlawful police abuse and possible profiling. If you can appear in person, try to get a written copy that the ticket was invalid and removed. You may also consider contacting a police harassment lawyer.

Many police harassment cases do not get addressed because most people are ignorant of their legal rights and the limitations of a police officer’s authority. In many questions, not knowing what legal recourse you may have can result in questions like these and more. There are verified Lawyers on JustAnswer that you can take these and other harassment related questions to. Knowing your rights is the first step in protecting them against harassment.

Recent Police Harassment Questions

MY NAME ISXXXXX THINK THAT A POLICE OFFICER, DARION

MY NAME ISXXXXX THINK THAT A POLICE OFFICER, DARION LEE, IS HARASSING ME. I LIVE IN MIDLAND, TX, POPULATION OF APPROXIMATELY 120,000 AND THIS COP HAS PULLED ME OVER 5 TIMES. I KNOW OF VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO’VE BEEN PULLED OVER TWICE BY THE SAME COP. I’M A SAFE DRIVER. I HAVE NO DUI’S. I’VE ONLY BEEN IN ONE ACCIDENT AND THE OTHER DRIVER WAS AT FAULT. I THINK MY LAST SPEEDING TICKET OCCURRED IN 1989. MY LICENSE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF TOO MANY INSURANCE TICKETS. AFTER MY 2ND CHILD SUPPORT CASE ENDS DID NOT ALWAYS MEET; HOWEVER, AFTER QUITE A BIT OF ADJUSTMENT, I HAVEN’T HAD ONE OF THOSE SINCE 2009.
TAKING THIS INTO CONSIDERATION, ONE WOULD THINK THAT NO POLICE OFFICER WOULD HAVE A REASON TO PULL ME OVER. I TRY TO DRIVE THAT WAY. THIS COP MAKES UP REASONS. THE FIRST TIME HE PULLED ME OVER, HE SAID THAT IT WAS FOR “SUSPICIOUS DRIVING.” I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. I ALSO VERY MUCH DOUBT IF IT’S A VALID REASON TO PULL SOMEONE OVER.
THE 2ND TIME HE PULLED ME OVER HE SAID IT WAS FOR “NOT STOPPING AT A CROSSWALK.” NOW, THAT NITE I THOUGHT IT SUSPICIOUS THAT HE PULLED A U-TURN WHEN WE PASSED EACH OTHER BECAUSE I KNEW THAT I HAD CURRENT TAGS. I THOUGHT HE’D DO LIKE ALL THE OTHER COPS WHO PROFILE WITHOUT PROFILING: FOLLOW FOR A BIT, THEN WHEN NO TRAFFIC LAWS WERE BROKEN, TAKE OFF. HE DIDN’T DO LIKE THE REST OF THEM. WHEN HE TOLD ME THAT HE PULLED ME OVER FOR NOT STOPPING AT A CROSS WALK, I WAS FLABBERGASTED. I THOUGHT THAT ONE ONLY STOPPED AT A CROSSWALK WHEN SOMEONE ELSE WAS ACTUALLY CROSSING IT. PLUS, I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT. HOW COULD I BE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT AND NOT BE STOPPED AT A CROSSWALK. HE ASKED IF HE COULD SEARCH MY CAR. IT TOLD HIM SURE, ALL HE’D FIND WE BE TOOLS, BATTERIES AND CLEAN LAUNDRY. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS BOUND AND DETERMINED TO FIND DRUGS IN MY CAR, HE FOUND NOTHING THEN TOOK ME TO JAIL FOR NOT HAVING A LICENSE. THEM SEARCHING ME, MY CAR, AND MY GIRLFRIEND REALLY FREAKED MY GIRLFRIEND OUT. SHE WAS SO AFRAID THAT SHE REFUSED TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME AND WAITED OUT IN THE COLD, AT NITE FOR A TAXI WHILE PREGNANT. I LATER WENT BACK TO THAT INTERSECTION AND DISCOVERED THAT IT DID NOT THEN, NOR EVER HAD HAD A CROSSWALK PAINTED ON IT.
HE STOPPED ME A 3RD TIME, AGAIN, FOR NOT STOPPING AT A CROSS WALK. NOW WHILE STOPPED AT THIS RED LIGHT, I SAW HIM SITTING IN A DAYCARE PARKING LOT. HE ACTUALLY SAW ME AT THE LIGHT, PULLED OUT OF THE LOT AND GOT BEHIND ME BEFORE THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN. THIS TIME WHEN HE PULLED ME OVER I REMINDED HIM ABOUT PULLING ME OVER BECAUSE OF AN IMAGINARY CROSSWALK ON FLORIDA STREET AND INSISTED THAT NO CROSSWALK EXISTED ON LAMESA ST EITHER. HE DECIDED TO LEAVE ME ALONE THAT TIME.
THE 4TH TIME HE PULLED ME OVER FOR MAKING A WIDE RIGHT TURN. NOW, LATELY IN MIDLAND, SOMEONE DIES IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT ALMOST EVERY DAY. THAT RIGHT TURN WAS THE SAFEST ONE I COULD MAKE DURING RUSH HOUR AND WITH A BABY ON BOARD. THEY PULLED ME OVER, HANDCUFFED ME AND SEARCHED MY CAR AGAIN. I DECIDED THAT I WOULD FIGHT THE TICKET. UNFORTUNATELY, I FOUND THAT I SUCK AS A LAWYER. APPARENTLY, HE DID NOT APPRECIATE HAVING TO GO TO COURT, SO ABUT WEEK LATER, I COME HOME FROM WORK TO FIND A POLICE CAR PARKED NEAR MY HOUSE. MY GIRLFRIEND TOLD ME IT HAD BEEN OUT THERE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS. I WENT BACK OUT TO MY CAR BECAUSE I HAD FORGOTTEN MY SNUFF AND HIS WINDOW WAS DOWN. IT WAS OFFICER LEE. THIS REALLY FREAKED MY GIRLFRIEND OUT.
NOW FOR THE 5TH TIME-- AS STATED EARLIER, WITH CHILD SUPPORT MY ENDS DON’T ALWAYS MEET. I HAD TO DROP MY INTERNET SERVICE, COMPLETELY FORGETTING THAT THAT’S HOW GEICO CONTACTS ME IF THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL. APPARENTLY THEY HAD A PROBLEM AND STOPPED MY COVERAGE WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE. THIS HAS SINCE BEEN RECTIFIED. I FOUND OUT ABOUT MY LACK OF COVERAGE LAST WEEK WHILE MY GIRL AND I WERE OUT PAYING SOME BILLS. I’M STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN WAITING TO MAKE A RIGHT HAND TURN. A POLICE CAR WAS AMONG THE EAST BOUND TRAFFIC. IF I’D HAVE SEEN THE DRIVER, I’D HAVE GONE THE OTHER WAY, BUT I DIDN’T. I FINALLY MAKE THE TURN AND WONDER, “WHY IT THAT COP CAR JUST SITTING IN THE TURN LANE WHEN HE’S CLEAR TO TURN?” IT DID NOT DAWN ON ME THE COP WAS WAITING FOR ME. HE PULLS ME OVER THEN TELLS ME THAT HE RAN MY PLATES AND FOUND THAT I HAD NO INSURANCE. I SHOWED HIM MY CARD HE GOES BACK TO HIS CAR THEN COMES BACK WITH MY POLICY # XXXXX WHEN MY COVERAGE ENDED. NOW, I THOUGHT THAT RUNNING PLATES WAS GOVERNED BY THE SAME RULES AS STOPPING A DRIVER—THE COP HAS TO SEE A VIOLATION. I WANT TO FIGHT THIS; HOWEVER, MY COVERAGE HAD LAPSED, I’VE ALREADY PROVEN THAT I SUCK AS A LAWYER, AND I DON’T HAVE THE $600 IT WOULD TAKE TO PUT UP THE COURT BOND IF I PLEAD NOT GUILTY.
MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS: IS THIS INDEED POLICE HARASSMENT OR PROFILING? ALSO, CAN YOU TELL ME ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO GET THIS GUY OFF OF MY BACK? ALSO, ANY SUGGESTIONS YOU GIVE ME, CAN YOU GIVE ME THEIR PROBABILITY FOR SUCCESS?
My vehicle got towed in Seattle based on the officers suspicion

My vehicle got towed in Seattle based on the officer`s suspicion that my car was stolen. The officer never received my confirmation that my vehicle was stolen. The Seattle Police did leave a voicemail confirming if the vehicle was stolen. By the time I got to my voicemails, my car was towed. As such, based on my situation that I have outlined, do I have a case to sue the police officer with police harassment and the towing expense.

Regards,

Jason Masai
My ex has filed with the police two charges against me in the

My ex has filed with the police two charges against me in the last two years, both charges are unfounded, plus has called security at two different airports on me for no reason at all ... Also her family has been trying to instigate confrontations while I'm trying to exchange my daughter with my ex. Also, they call my home at odd hours to find out "where the daughter is" just to make me mad.

I have the one of the two police reports and am currently working on getting the second one. Can I file with the police harassment on her family for continually contacting me and trying to instigate confrontations, as well as have a "No-contact" restraining order on them?

Also, can I file charges of harassment on my ex for continually calling the cops for no reason just to try and get me arrested for false charges?

Also where could I file these charges? As I am in one state and my ex and her family is in another.. and it's happened in multiple different states..

Thanks.