It is the duty of the police to make the citizens of a region feel safe and protected. However, many times, people become victims of police harassment. Though there are laws against police harassment, many times it may be difficult to prove. This is because many people may not even be aware of what constitutes police harassment and what legal action they can take if they have been victims. Given below are some of the important questions regarding police harassment that have been answered: What action can a person take if he/she has been a victim of police harassment? It is important to be aware of what steps you can take if you are being harassed by the police. The first thing that you should do is file a complaint against the officer who is harassing you at the jurisdiction where the officer works. However, if complaining at the station does not work, you may file a complaint with the Internal Affairs Bureau. You will have to make a note of all the instances when you were harassed by the officer along with as many details as possible before complaining to the Internal Affairs Bureau. What can a person do if there is no action taken about a harassment charge that was filed with the Chief of Police? If a person’s harassment complaint is not taken into consideration by the chief of police, the individual may have other options. He/she may first send a certified letter to the chief of police stating his/her case. He/she may file a complaint at the state attorney general or district attorney’s office if no action is taken after the letter is sent. If the person thinks that his/her civil rights have been violated, he/she may also file a federal complaint. He/she may hire a civil litigation attorney to fight the case for him/her. Will it be considered police harassment if the officer breaks down your door and enters your house every time he/she has an approval from the judge? If the officer has a search warrant, then he/she may have the right to enter your house and search the premises. Hence, it may not be classified as police harassment if the officer has a court order. However, this does not mean that the police may have the right to damage your property. He/she may only have the right to search your house under the provisions of the order. You will be able to file a complaint depending on the situation after the search has been conducted. The complaint may be filed with the police agency or the state attorney general’s office if the police officer misused the warrant. Will it be police harassment if the officer tows a car even after not finding anything in it? Will his/her action be justified if he/she says that the person was acting suspiciously? The police may be able to tow the car by stating that there is a probable cause for their action. However, if the officers do not find anything after searching the car, it may be considered an unreasonable search and seizure. This will violate the individual’s fourth amendment rights. The individual may hire a lawyer and file a complaint against the police for abuse of power and harassment. In most cases, the police may not tow the person’s vehicle if they do not find anything on searching it and do not issue any tickets to the person. The person may sue for police harassment and punitive damages in some cases. Does a police officer have the right to issue a ticket outside his/her jurisdiction? Will he/she be able to justify his/her action by changing the location where the car was caught? If the person is sure that where he/she was caught is outside the police officer’s jurisdiction, then he/she may file a complaint with the sergeant against the officer. The person may explain to the sergeant that the officer was not in his/her jurisdiction when he/she gave the ticket. The individual will have to give the sergeant proof of his/her location. The individual may have a case for police harassment, discrimination, unlawful police abuse and possible profiling depending on his/her situation. He/she may also try to get a written copy of the ticket to prove his/her case. Most of the times police harassment cases are not recorded because people are unaware of the laws and the rights that they have. Not knowing what you can do in case of police harassment can give rise to many legal questions. You may ask a lawyer if you have any questions about police harassment or need more information about the laws that govern it.
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