Protecting Your Rights And Holding Those With Power Accountable
Excessive force by police can turn a routine encounter into a life-changing event. Victims may face serious injuries, emotional trauma and lost faith in the system after their rights were violated. New Mexico law defines and limits police authority to protect its...
Evidence forms the backbone of accountability. In New Mexico, when police destroy or hide it, they not only compromise investigations but also block victims from seeking justice in civil rights lawsuits. What is evidence tampering? Evidence tampering happens when...
You are pulled over, or perhaps approached on foot, and despite your cooperation, you are not allowed to leave. The initial encounter becomes an extended confinement, leaving you feeling helpless and unjustly restricted. When does this scenario transition from a...
Police misconduct is no small matter. If you walk away from an incident feeling shaken and disrespected by a police officer’s actions, you may have experienced police brutality. But not knowing what counts as abuse of power versus a “bad encounter” can leave you...
Use-of-force incidents have long been a subject of public concern – and rightfully so. While many police officers adhere to safety protocols designed to minimize harm, an Associate Press investigation reveals some alarming patterns in which these guidelines are...
Accusations of police brutality may involve psychological intimidation or verbal abuse, but they most commonly center around physical abuse. The police may have used physical force on a suspect who then claims it was a violation of their rights. This can be a complex...
De-escalation training is designed to help police officers handle confrontations appropriately. Using force often just escalates the situation and makes things worse. Officers need to be able to talk to subjects and take intentional steps to avoid violence,...
In movies and TV shows, you sometimes see officers plant evidence. They know they want to arrest someone, but they haven’t caught them in the act. The officer intentionally plants the evidence, pretends to “find” it, and then makes the arrest. But is this just...
Police officers have a crucial responsibility to serve and protect civilians from harm. Unfortunately, some officers fail in their duties and even become a source of danger to people. Civilians should know that officers always have options to neutralize threats...
Muslim women who wear hijabs do so for religious reasons, and it’s considered improper for them to expose their hair to men outside of certain immediate family members. Unfortunately, that puts many hijabi women in direct conflict with the authorities when they’re...