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Insert Picture of the person (and source) and explain the following in your own words:

What did this person do?

When were they alive?

Why are they well-known?

How are they related to your social justice issue?

How did they impact your social justice issue?

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What are the Police Brutality Laws in the US? – Morgan & Morgan

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What are the Police Brutality Laws in the US? – Morgan & Morgan

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This article talks about police brutality laws in the US.
Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that ", local and state law enforcement officers act unlawfully when discriminating against individuals based on their color, race, nationality, gender, or religion. Persons who have suffered ill-treatment by law enforcement can potentially sue in civil court." This article also talks about your rights, and educates you on your different type of rights.

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Police officers are breaking the law if they use excessive or unnecessary force in the line of duty. According to the organization Mapping Police Violence, 1,126 persons were killed by police in 2020 alone.

Police brutality laws allow the use of lethal force only as a last resort. Yet, recently several unarmed black individuals died due to the use of excessive and deadly force by police officers, including George Floyd, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, and others.

If you suffered injuries or a loved one died due to the indefensible actions of law enforcement officers, Morgan & Morgan could help. You might be entitled to damages. Contact us now to find out about your options for free.

What Is Police Brutality?

Police brutality describes the excessive or unnecessary use of physical force and violence by law enforcement. Police brutality can cause devastating mental and physical injuries, as well as fatalities. Excessive force and violence issues in law enforcement can potentially arise due to inadequate training, systemic racism, and other reasons.

Examples of Police Brutality

Police brutality can encompass various actions and behaviors, some of which violate fundamental human rights. Acts of police brutality can include beatings, killings, torture, racial abuse, and unlawful detention by police. Other actions that could constitute illegal police brutality can include:

Intimidation

Threats of violence

Racial profiling and other discriminatory acts

Illegal search and seizure

Assault and battery

Negligent police chases

Coerced confession

Unwarranted use of tasers or firearms

Denial of medical assistance

Sexual assault or abuse

Wrongful death

When police officers cross the line and use more force than warranted, individuals' rights are violated. If police brutality caused you harm, whether psychologically, physically, or financially, you deserve justice. Our compassionate and dedicated attorneys are here to help.

Laws Addressing Police Brutality

If a law enforcement officer violated your civil rights or you are a victim of police brutality, the law can and should be on your side. Federal laws dealing with the issue of police brutality can include:

10 CFR § 1047.7 - Use of Deadly Force

According to 10 CFR § 1047.7, the use of deadly force is only authorized in some circumstances, including in the following:

Self-Defense

Deadly force may be reasonable when law enforcement officers reasonably believe that they are in imminent danger of death or serious injury.

Serious Offenses Against Individuals

Deadly force could be used reasonably when trying to prevent a serious offense against a person in danger of imminent death or serious injury.

Apprehension of a Person

Deadly force could be justified when apprehending or preventing the escape of a dangerous person reasonably believed to have committed a major offense or have escaped by use of a weapon or explosive. Deadly force may also be reasonable when an individual poses a serious threat of death or significant injury to the public or law enforcement officers unless apprehended immediately.

Moreover, if the use of a firearm becomes necessary, a law enforcement officer should give a warning such as an order to stop, if possible, before firing a shot.

Title 18 of the United States Code

U.S. Code Title 18 can be relevant to numerous forms of police brutality, such as:

Excessive force

Intimidation

The improper use of pepper spray

Under Title 18, citizens are also protected from law enforcement keeping them from expressing or invoking their constitutional rights.

Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Under Title 6 law, local and state law enforcement officers act unlawfully when discriminating against individuals based on their color, race, nationality, gender, or religion. Persons who have suffered ill-treatment by law enforcement can potentially sue in civil court.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA generally prohibits police misconduct or discrimination against citizens with disabilities. The ADA could apply in the following situations, among others:

Unlawful detention by police

Use of excessive force or violence when arresting a disabled person

Failing to accommodate an individual's disability

Detaining a person due to the unreasonable belief that their disability constitutes evidence of having committed a crime

Under the ADA, individuals who suffered from unreasonable police brutality can file civil lawsuits.

The laws mentioned above can offer protection in a variety of different circumstances that involve improper police conduct, including but not limited to:

Addressing complaints by individuals

Booking, holding, and arresting a suspect

Prison conditions

Use of force

There are numerous laws that can protect those who have suffered mistreatment by the police. If you or a loved one are affected, do not hesitate to contact our law firm to find out about your options for getting justice.

Police Brutality and Your Constitutional Rights

The Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution provides that no individual should be subjected to unreasonable searches and seizures of property or their person. The Fourth Amendment also protects citizens from arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention by police.

The Fifth Amendment

The Fifth Amendment, among other provisions, protects individuals from incriminating themselves. If arrested, a suspect must be read their Miranda rights and can remain silent if they so choose. If police officers coerce a suspect to a confession, fail to read them their Miranda rights or interview them without an attorney, they could be held to account for violating Fifth Amendment rights.

The Eighth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment states that no individual should suffer from "cruel and unusual punishment," which could be interpreted by a court to describe excessive and unreasonable force in police brutality cases.

The Fourteenth Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizens the right to due process. The amendment asserts that no individual should be deprived of their liberty, property, or life without due legal process. This includes protection from false imprisonment and unlawful seizure, similarly to provisions under the Fourth Amendment.

You Could Recover Financial Compensation

It is important to note that officers are generally entitled to use force, even deadly force, if required to protect themselves and others. Getting hurt due to resisting arrest or fleeing from a police officer is unlikely to result in legal recourse or compensation for a suspect. However, if you and your attorney can prove that an officer used excessive and unreasonable force against you, and you suffered harm as a result, you could recover damages.

While compensation will depend on your individual case, damages, and injuries, you could potentially be entitled to awards for:

Physical and emotional suffering

Humiliation

Inconvenience

Healthcare expenses

Damage to your property

Lost income

Evidence That Could Help to Prove Your Case

If you have suffered harm due to police brutality and are looking to sue, the burden of proof will be on you, the plaintiff. Specifically, you will have to show that the level of force or other behavior by a police officer was unreasonable. Some jurisdictions ask for "clear and convincing" evidence of police brutality in a lawsuit. Evidence helping to prove your case can include:

The officer's body camera footage

Nearby CCTV camera recordings

Eyewitness statements

Medical reports proving your injuries

Expert witness testimony

Suing the government can be a complicating and daunting task. However, a police brutality lawyer at Morgan & Morgan can gather the evidence you need to prove your case and leave no stone unturned in fighting for justice on your behalf.

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What are the Police Brutality Laws in the US?

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Police officers are breaking the law if they use excessive or unnecessary force in the line of duty. According to the organization Mapping Police Violence, 1,126 persons were killed by police in 2020 alone. Police brutality laws allow the use of lethal force only as a last resort.

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Oscar Grant was killed by BART police in Oakland for a call about a fight on new years. Videos shot officers shot Oscar grant in the back. Reports showed that Oscar Grant was also unarmed.

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This Day in History

Time Periods: 2001 - Present

Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Racism & Racial Identity

On Jan. 1, 2009, Oscar Grant III was fatally shot by BART Police in Oakland, California, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.

Watch the film Fruitvale Station. #BlackLivesMatter

Related Resources

Teaching Guides

Teaching for Black Lives

Teaching Guide. Edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, Wayne Au. 2018. Rethinking Schools. 368 pages.
Essays, teaching activities, role plays, poems, and artwork, designed to illuminate the movement for Black students' lives, the school-to-prison-pipeline, Black history, gentrification, intersectional Black identities, and more.

This Day in History

Feb. 26, 2012: Trayvon Martin Murdered

Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, was murdered. The death of Martin and acquittal of the man who shot him sparked the national and global Movement for Black Lives.

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Jan. 1, 2009: Oscar Grant Killed - Zinn Education Project

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Oscar Grant was fatally shot by BART Police in Oakland.

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Michael Brown Killed by Police Officers 

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Michael Brown Killed by Police Officers 

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In August 2014, Micheal Brown was brutally shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson. He was caught jaywalking, and was also unarmed, so this is a case of racism. Micheal and Daren had a altercation which caused the problem to get bigger and bigger. Darren Wilson has been on paid administrative leave and has been in hiding since the shooting.

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African American teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown had just graduated from high school and was preparing to enter a program for heating and air conditioning repair at Vatterott College.

The tragic killing of Michael Brown sparked protests across the nation and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Four years later (August 7, 2018), city council member Wesley Bell won the Democratic primary for St. Louis County prosecutor over seven-term incumbent Bob McCulloch, who had failed to secure an indictment of Wilson. Read " Voters Oust Prosecutor Who Freed Michael Brown's Killer" on Colorlines.

Learn more about the police shooting of Michael Brown, the protests, and the response by the Department of Justice at Democracy Now!

We also recommend watching " The Making of Ferguson," with Sherrilyn Ifill and Richard Rothstein, which shows that government actions-such as racially explicit zoning, public housing segregation, and federal requirements for white-only suburbs systematically segregated African Americans-and set the stage for the conditions in Ferguson.

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Aug. 9, 2014: Michael Brown Killed by Police - Zinn Education Project

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African American teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown had just graduated from high school and was preparing to enter a program for heating and air conditioning repair at Vatterott College.

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George Floyd moved to the Minneapolis area and worked as a truck driver and bouncer. In 2020, he lost his job as a truck driver, and then his security job during the COVID-19 pandemic.  George Floyd was born on October 14, 1973, in Fayetteville, NC, And died on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN. He is well-known because he was a victim of police brutality, and the cause of riots and protests. He is related to my social justice issue because like mentioned, he suffered from police brutality, which is what my project is about. He impacted my social justice issue because he was one of the cases that happened recently.

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HOUSTON (AP) - Years before a bystander's video of George Floyd's last moments turned his name into a global cry for justice, Floyd trained a camera on himself.

"I just want to speak to you all real quick," Floyd says in one video, addressing the young men in his neighborhood who looked up to him. His 6-foot-7 frame crowds the picture.

"I've got my shortcomings and my flaws and I ain't better than nobody else," he says. "But, man, the shootings that's going on, I don't care what 'hood you're from, where you're at, man. I love you and God loves you. Put them guns down."

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press initially published this profile of George Floyd on June 10, 2020. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted by a jury on April 20, 2021, of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

___

At the time, Floyd was respected as a man who spoke from hard, but hardly extraordinary, experience. He had nothing remotely like the stature he has gained in death, embraced as a universal symbol of the need to overhaul policing and held up as a heroic everyman.

But the reality of his 46 years on Earth, including sharp edges and setbacks Floyd himself acknowledged, was both much fuller and more complicated.

Once a star athlete with dreams of turning pro and enough talent to win a partial scholarship, Floyd returned home only to bounce between jobs before serving nearly five years in prison. Intensely proud of his roots in Houston's Third Ward and admired as a mentor in a public housing project beset by poverty, he decided the only way forward was to leave it behind.

"He had made some mistakes that cost him some years of his life," said Ronnie Lillard, a friend and rapper who performs under the name Reconcile. "And when he got out of that, I think the Lord greatly impacted his heart."

___

Floyd was born in North Carolina. But his mother, a single parent, moved the family to Houston when he was 2, so she could search for work. They settled in the Cuney Homes, a low-slung warren of more than 500 apartments south of downtown nicknamed "The Bricks."

The neighborhood, for decades a cornerstone of Houston's black community, has gentrified in recent years. Texas Southern University, a historically black campus directly across the street from the projects, has long held itself out as a launchpad for those willing to strive. But many residents struggle, with incomes about half the city average and unemployment nearly four times higher, even before the recent economic collapse.

Yeura Hall, who grew up next door to Floyd, said even in the Third Ward other kids looked down on those who lived in public housing. To deflect the teasing, he, Floyd and other boys made up a song about themselves: "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Cuney Homes kid. They got so many rats and roaches I can play with."

Larcenia Floyd invested her hopes in her son, who as a second-grader wrote that he dreamed of being a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

"She thought that he would be the one that would bring them out of poverty and struggle," said Travis Cains, a longtime friend.

Floyd was a star tight end for the football team at Jack Yates High School, playing for the losing side in the 1992 state championship game at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.

He was an atypical football player. "We used to call him 'Big Friendly,'" said Cervaanz Williams, a former teammate.

"If you said something to him, his head would drop," said Maurice McGowan, his football coach. "He just wasn't going to ball up and act like he wanted to fight you."

On the basketball court, Floyd's height and strength won attention from George Walker, a former assistant coach at the University of Houston hired for the head job at what is now South Florida State College. The school was a 17-hour drive away, in a small town, but high school administrators and Floyd's mother urged him to go, Walker said.

"They wanted George to really get out of the neighborhood, to do something, be something," Walker said.

In Avon Park, Florida, Floyd and a few other players from Houston stood out for their size, accents and city cool. They lived in the Jacaranda Hotel, a historic lodge used as a dormitory, and were known as the "Jac Boys."

"He was always telling me about the Third Ward of Houston, how rough it was, but how much he loved it," said Robert Caldwell, a friend and fellow student who frequently traveled with the basketball team. "He said people know how to grind, as hard as it is, people know how to love."

After two years in Avon Park, Floyd spent a year at Texas A&M University in Kingsville before returning to Houston and his mother's apartment to find jobs in construction and security.

Larcenia Floyd, known throughout the neighborhood as Ms. Cissy, welcomed her son's friends from childhood, offering their apartment as refuge when their lives grew stressful. When a neighbor went to prison on drug charges, Ms. Cissy took in the woman's pre-teen son, Cal Wayne, deputizing George to play older brother for the next 2½ years.

"We would steal his jerseys and put his jerseys on and run around the house, go outside, jerseys all the way down to our ankles because he was so big and we were little," said Wayne, now a well-known rapper who credits Floyd with encouraging him to pursue music.

George Floyd, he said, "was like a superhero."

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Floyd, too, dabbled in music, occasionally invited to rap with Robert Earl Davis Jr. -- better known as DJ Screw, whose mixtapes have since been recognized as influential in charting Houston's place as a hotbed of hip-hop.

But then, the man known throughout Cuney as "Big Floyd," started finding trouble.

Between 1997 and 2005, Floyd was arrested several times on drug and theft charges, spending months in jail. Around that time, Wayne's mother, Sheila Masters, recalled running into Floyd in the street and learning he was homeless.

"He's so tall he'd pat me on my head ... and say, 'Mama you know it's going to be all right,'" Masters said.

In August 2007, Floyd was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Investigators said he and five other men barged into a woman's apartment, and Floyd pushed a pistol into her abdomen before searching for items to steal. Floyd pleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced to five years in prison. By the time he was paroled, in January 2013, he was nearing 40.

"He came home with his head on right," said friend Travis Cains.

At a Christian rap concert in the Third Ward, Floyd met Lillard and pastor Patrick "PT" Ngwolo, whose ministry was looking for ways to reach residents in Cuney Homes. Floyd, who seemed to know everyone in the project, volunteered to be their guide.

Soon Floyd was setting up a washtub on the Cuney basketball courts for baptisms by Ngwolo's newly formed Resurrection Houston congregation. He joined three-on-three basketball tournaments and barbecues, organized by the ministry. He knocked on doors with Ngwolo, introducing residents as candidates for grocery deliveries or Bible study.

Another pastor, Christopher Johnson, recalled Floyd stopping by his office while Johnson's mother was visiting. Decades had passed since Johnson's mother had been a teacher at Floyd's high school. It didn't matter. He wrapped her in a bear hug.

"I don't think he ever thought of himself as being big," Johnson said. "There's a lot of big dudes here, but he was a gentleman and a diplomat and I'm not putting any sauce on it."

On the streets of Cuney, Floyd was increasingly embraced as an O.G. -- literally "original gangster," but bestowed as a title of respect for a mentor who'd learned from life experience.

In Tiffany Cofield's classroom at a neighborhood charter school, some of her male students -- many of whom had already had brushes with the law -- told her to talk to "Big Floyd" if she wanted to understand.

Floyd would listen patiently as she voiced her frustrations with students' bad behavior, she said. And he would try to explain the life of a young man in the projects.

After school, Floyd often met up with her students outside a corner store.

"How's school going?" he'd ask. "Are you being respectful? How's your mom? How's your grandma?"

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In 2014, Floyd began exploring the possibility of leaving the neighborhood.

As the father of five children from several relationships, he had bills to pay. And despite his stature in Cuney, everyday life could be trying. More than once, Floyd ended up in handcuffs when police came through the projects and detained a large number of men, Cofield said.

"He would show by example: 'Yes, officer. No, officer.' Very respectful. Very calm tone," she said.

A friend of Floyd's had already moved to the Twin Cities as part of a church discipleship program that offered men a route to self-sufficiency by changing their environment and helping them find jobs.

"He was looking to start over fresh, a new beginning," said Christopher Harris, who preceded Floyd to Minneapolis. Friends provided Floyd with money and clothing to ease the transition.

In Minneapolis, Floyd found a job as a security guard at the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center -- the city's largest homeless shelter.

"He would regularly walk a couple of female co-workers out ... at night and make sure they got to their cars safely and securely," said Brian Molohon, director of development for the Army's Minnesota office. "Just a big strong guy, but with a very tender side."

Floyd left after a little over a year, training to drive trucks while working as a bouncer at a club called Conga Latin Bistro.

"He would dance badly to make people laugh," said the owner, Jovanni Thunstrom. "I tried to teach him how to dance because he loved Latin music, but I couldn't because he was too tall for me."

Floyd kept his connection to Houston, regularly returning to Cuney.

When Houston hosted the Super Bowl in 2017, Floyd was back in town, hosting a party at the church with music and free AIDS testing. He came back again for his mother's funeral the next year. And when Cains spoke with him last, a few weeks ago, Floyd was planning another trip for this summer.

By then, Floyd was out of work. Early this spring, Thunstrom cut Floyd's job when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the club to close.

On the evening of Memorial Day, Floyd was with two others when convenience store employees accused him of paying for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, then called the police. Less than an hour later, Floyd breathed his last.

Those who knew him search for meaning in his death.

"I've come to the belief that he was chosen," said Cofield, the teacher. "Only this could have happened to him because of who he was and the amount of love that he had for people, people had for him."

It's a small comfort, she admits. But, then, in Big Floyd's neighborhood, people have long made do with less.

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Merchant and Lozano reported from Houston, Henao from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Geller from New York. Associated Press writer Aaron Morrison in Minneapolis and videographer John Mone in Houston contributed to this report.

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For George Floyd, a complicated life and consequential death

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HOUSTON (AP) - Years before a bystander's video of George Floyd's last moments turned his name into a global cry for justice, Floyd trained a camera on himself. "I just want to speak to you all real quick," Floyd says in one video, addressing the young men in his neighborhood who looked up to him.