Trusted police brutality lawyers serving victims across San Francisco, CA on a contingency fee basis.
If you were injured by an officer’s unlawful use of force in San Francisco, you may be dealing with hospital bills, criminal charges that should never have been filed, and a police report that doesn’t match what actually happened. You deserve a firm that has stood up to law enforcement agencies and won against them. Our San Francisco, CA police brutality lawyer offers free consultations, and we handle these cases on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you. Please contact us today so we can begin working on your case.
Police Brutality Lawyer San Francisco, CA
Police brutality is the use of force by law enforcement that goes beyond what the situation legally allows. Officers are permitted to use reasonable force to make a lawful arrest or protect public safety. When they exceed that boundary, the conduct becomes a civil rights violation. Beatings, chokeholds, unjustified shootings, and the misuse of so-called less-lethal weapons like rubber bullets all fall into this category.
A police brutality attorney in San Francisco, CA pursues civil claims against the officers and the government entities that employ them. These cases are not criminal prosecutions. They are lawsuits brought by the injured person to recover compensation and hold the agency accountable. The U.S. Department of Justice separately investigates officers who willfully deprive people of their constitutional rights, but a civil lawsuit is the path that puts money back in the victim’s possession.
Types of Police Brutality Cases We Handle in San Francisco
Police misconduct takes many forms, and the right legal strategy depends on what happened to you. Our firm has litigated these cases against major law enforcement agencies in California. Here are the matters we handle most often:
- Excessive force. This covers beatings, baton strikes, chokeholds, and takedowns that were not justified by the circumstances. We gather body camera footage, witness statements, and medical records before the agency’s version of events hardens into the official story.
- Rubber bullet and projectile injuries. Less-lethal weapons cause devastating harm when fired at protesters and bystanders. We have represented peaceful demonstrators shot with these projectiles and recovered substantial compensation for them.
- Unlawful arrest and false imprisonment. An arrest without probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment. These claims often accompany excessive force allegations, since unjustified arrests frequently involve unjustified force.
- Police shootings. Officer-involved shootings demand immediate investigation. Evidence disappears fast, and agencies control most of it. We move quickly to preserve dispatch records, video, and forensic evidence.
- Racial profiling. Stops, searches, and arrests motivated by race violate the Constitution. We’ve handled cases combining racial profiling with excessive force claims.
- Protest-related misconduct. People exercising their legal rights to protest are sometimes met with batons, tear gas, and mass arrests. We represent demonstrators injured by crowd control tactics.
- Injuries in custody. Force used against people in jails and holding cells, or the denial of urgent medical care, can support a civil rights claim.
- Wrongful death. When police misconduct kills, surviving family members can pursue claims for their loss. These are the hardest cases we handle, and the most important. We are both deeply empathetic and strategic when handling cases of this nature.
Why Choose Bloom Fudali as my Police Brutality Lawyer in San Francisco, CA?
Trial Attorneys Who Take On Powerful Defendants
Lisa Bloom has practiced law since the early 1990s and has been selected as a Super Lawyer every year since 2015. She built this firm to represent victims, and she has spent her career suing defendants most lawyers are afraid to deal with. A graduate of Yale Law School, Lisa Bloom turned down lucrative corporate offers early in her career to represent victims of discrimination, first at a small civil rights firm in New York and later at Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, where she spent nine years fighting for the powerless.
Attorney Bloom founded her own firm in 2010, and it has since grown into one of the largest civil rights firms in the country, now operating as Bloom Fudali with attorneys handling family, civil, and criminal cases in California and New York.
Her results speak for themselves. She served as lead trial counsel in an $11 million sexual harassment jury verdict, one of the highest individual awards in California history. Her firm won a $1.35 million police brutality victory against the LAPD, secured compensation for eight victims of Jeffrey Epstein, and prevailed in a defamation case against Bill Cosby on behalf of Janice Dickinson. The firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims of discrimination, harassment, and abuse.
A Record of Results Against Law Enforcement
Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for victims of civil rights violations, including settlements for protesters shot with rubber bullets and other less-lethal weapons during the 2020 demonstrations. We exclusively represent plaintiffs, so we have never worked for police departments or their insurers, and we never will. Every police misconduct case is also a civil rights case, which is why clients searching for a civil rights lawyer come to us with profiling, due process, and excessive force claims alike. Please contact us now if you are in need of further assistance.
Understanding Police Brutality Cases
Charges, Liability, and Compensation for Police Brutality Cases
A successful San Francisco police misconduct claim depends on a few core concepts. We understand that these types of incidents can be particularly disturbing, as law enforcement uses its power to harm people who may not have felt like they were in a position to defend themselves. When evaluating your case, we often assess the following variables:
- Constitutional violations. Most claims allege a violation of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizures, which includes excessive force.
- Objective reasonableness. Courts ask whether a reasonable officer in the same situation would have used that level of force.
- Government liability. Cities and counties can be held responsible for their officers’ conduct in many circumstances.
- Qualified immunity. Officers often raise this defense, but experienced counsel knows how to counter this approach.
- Damages. Compensation can cover medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. In some cases involving malicious conduct, additional damages may be available.
Important Aspects of a Police Brutality Case
The agency controls the body camera footage, the dispatch logs, and the internal reports, which means your attorney has to fight for everything element of proof. Here are a few aspects that matter the most for your police brutality case:
- Preserving video before it’s deleted or “lost”
- Identifying independent witnesses early
- Documenting injuries with photographs and medical records
- Filing required government claims before strict deadlines pass
- Anticipating the immunity defenses the agency will raise
Victims should also act on their own behalf in the first hours and days. We’ve written about the steps to take immediately after an excessive force incident, and about your protest rights under the law. Officer accounts don’t always match the evidence. The question of whether police lie in reports is one we confront in case after case, and video frequently settles any dishonesty.
Police Brutality Case Timeline
Every case moves differently, but most follow a recognizable path. Expect the process to take months at minimum, and often longer if the case goes to trial.
- Free consultation and case evaluation
- Investigation and evidence preservation
- Government claim filing within the strict statutory deadline
- Lawsuit filing in state or federal court
- Discovery, including depositions of the officers involved
- Settlement negotiations, mediation, or trial
What to Bring to Your Police Brutality Consultation
Bring whatever you have to your consultation appointment with us. Don’t worry if you’re missing items, because we can obtain most records ourselves. Generally, here are items and information to have during your appointment:
- Photographs of your injuries and the scene
- Medical records and bills
- Any citation, arrest paperwork, or court documents
- Names and contact information for witnesses
- Any video you or others recorded
California Legal Resources for Police Brutality Cases
Several official resources can help you understand the rules that govern these claims and report misconduct directly. Please take a look at the following resources, but do not use them in substitute for legal representation:
- Code of Civil Procedure 335.1: California’s statute of limitations for injury claims is generally two years.
- Code of Civil Procedure 340(c): Defamation claims (libel and slander) carry a one-year statute of limitations.
- Civil Code 52.1: The Tom Bane Civil Rights Act allows civil claims when rights are interfered with by threat, intimidation, or coercion.
- Sacramento Superior Court: Claims against government entities require a written claim, generally within six months.
- Department of Police Accountability: Investigates complaints against San Francisco officers.
Reach Out to Bloom Fudali to Schedule a Consultation
If an officer’s misconduct injured you or someone you love, talk to us. Consultations are free, and we handle police brutality cases on contingency, so you owe nothing unless we win. We’ll listen to what happened, give you an honest assessment, and let you know what your options are moving forward with the case. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation with a San Francisco police brutality lawyer.