There are many ways for police officers to violate the rights of members of the public. Occasionally, police officers falsely arrest people who did not commit a crime and cause them significant hardship in the process.
Oftentimes, members of the public do their best to comply with police officer requests during an investigation or arrest. However, people do have a right to assert themselves in scenarios that constitute false arrest leading to false imprisonment. In fact, those falsely arrested and detained by law enforcement professionals may sometimes have grounds for a lawsuit.
Improper arrest and incarceration can be a violation of an individual’s civil rights. What circumstances might lead to a claim of false arrest in New Mexico?
Racial profiling
Unfortunately, quite a few false arrests occur because of an officer’s internal biases. When a call goes out to watch for a suspect from a certain racial group, police officers might mistakenly arrest other members of the same group even though they do not fully meet the description of the suspect at large.
Many cases of false arrest and false imprisonment begin with a vague description of a suspect and police officers who let their bias turn a random encounter on the street into a traumatizing experience for an uninvolved member of the public. Racial profiling is a problematic practice that exposes innocent people to harm.
False police reports
Many cases involving false arrests and false imprisonment begin with a wrongful report to law enforcement authorities. Sometimes, people weaponize the criminal justice system by making false claims about another individual. They may create a totally false scenario implicating a specific party.
Other times, the false claim might be relatively generalized. The goal may be to fabricate protection from a legitimate criminal manner by falsifying a police report. An innocent person could easily end up arrested because of the false report filed by another individual.
Someone subject to false arrest and imprisonment may want to avoid arrest and detention. However, fighting officers or fleeing an attempted arrest may only worsen their circumstances. Those who recognize a false arrest in progress may need to secure legal assistance to both ensure their timely release from state custody and hold state authorities accountable.
Particularly in scenarios where a false arrest has economic consequences or leads to an injury, the party unfairly arrested may have grounds for civil rights litigation. Recognizing a false arrest when it occurs or shortly afterward can help individuals demand accountability from the state for a violation of their rights.