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Suing the Police

Have you been a victim of Police Misconduct? Could you be entitled to compensation? Let us find out.

Ensuring Just and Fair Treatment from the Police 

Our Actions Against Police solicitors understand that very often the people who are there to protect and serve us misuse and abuse their powers. If you have been wrongfully detained, assaulted or maliciously prosecuted you may be entitled to bring forward a case against the Police.

Our specialist lawyers deal with cases where there are allegations of Police Misconduct. We also deal with matters where you feel that the Police have let you, or the public down, by the way they have acted or failed to act.

Our expert solicitors are specialists in this specific area of law. They can guide you through your case, step by step, putting you at ease every step of the way.

We will strive to help anyone who has been a victim of the following:

Assaulted By Police

There are many occasions when it can be argued the police have assaulted you. The legal definition of assault is to be put in fear of attack.

Everyone – including the police – has a right to defend themselves from attack. The Police are also allowed to use force to uphold the law or during the course of arrest, but the force they use must be reasonable, not excessive and the arrest must be lawful.

From April 2014 to April 2015, the Independent Police Complaints Commission handled 69,500 allegations of police misconduct so the evidence suggests that many members of the public do not feel that the balance is always right. The IPCC was investigating more than 3,000 cases of assault by Police in 2014-2015 with almost half of the total coming from just two forces – London’s Met and the West Midlands Police, according to figures obtained by The Independent newspaper using Freedom of Information requests. 

Claims for assault Against the Police can arise from many circumstances and among the most common are:

  • Injury during the course of arrest, including handcuff injury.
  • Injury during a police chase - whether or not you are the driver of a pursued vehicle.
  • Injury or fear of injury during a demonstration or protest such as being hit with a shield or threatened with a baton.
  • Use of tasers or pepper spray by police.

If your arrest was unlawful, any contact between you and the arresting officer or during the custody procedure could well be considered as an assault by a police officer. In these circumstances where there is injury by a police officer then claims can be made for both wrongful arrest and assault and battery.

Another common source of claims is police use of stop and search powers. Physical contact during a search may trigger a claim.

Protest marches and demonstrations are another potential source of police assaults. If you are hit during a march or you are menaced by police batons, it may count as an assault and give you a valid claim.

Even when police are lawfully arresting you, the level of force they use on you must be proportionate to the situation. Police must follow strict guidelines on the use of force including batons, tasers, CS gas or pepper spray. Police must also be able to justify the use of handcuffs and show that restraining you was a reasonable course of action.

If you have been assaulted by police, it helps your case if you gather relevant evidence as soon as possible. Sensible steps include seeing a doctor and taking photographs of any injuries such as marks from handcuffs.

If you believe you have been the victim of an assault, please get in touch today.

Our client care and hard work ethic has forged a real understanding for what our clients want from our service - expert knowledge on the area and great customer care. We pride ourselves on our promises:

  • Client always come first 
  • Integrity at the heart of what we do 
  • Hard working department that will fight your corner 

If you think you have been mistreated by the police in anyway, please get in touch with one of our offices in Wirral or Liverpool.

Do you have a question regarding taking legal action against the police? Our experts answer your questions here.

Q. What does the Actions Against the Police department do?

This specialist department deals with cases where there are any allegations of Police Misconduct. We also deal with matters where you feel that the Police have let you, or the public down, by the way they have acted or failed to act.

Q. What problems can the Actions Against the Police department help me with?

People can face a vast range of problems involving the Police and Broudie Jackson Canter can help in all sorts of ways. If a Police officer or officers do not follow their codes of conduct, we can assist with bringing complaints against them. Some of the areas we help with include:

  • Wrongful Arrest
  • Unlawful Imprisonment
  • Malicious Prosecution
  • Assault
  • Recovery of Property
  • Human Rights

Q. How can you ensure that actions against the Police are dealt with properly?

In recent years we have become increasingly involved with ensuring that your complaints are fully investigated by the Police. One way of doing this is to insist that the Independent Police Complaints Commission fulfills its role of overseeing all complaints. If you do complain, we try to ensure that you do not become a victim of 'the system'. We want you to know that no stone is left unturned in seeking justice.

Q. Who can the department help?

We will try our best to help anyone who has a problem with the Police. These problems do not just happen to a particular type of person or a section of society. We have acted for people from a vast range of ethnic backgrounds and experiences. We do not just work on Merseyside - we have conducted cases against many Police forces across the UK.

Q. How much will it cost me?

Legal Aid is available for Actions Against the Police. When we first meet we will tell you if you qualify for help under this scheme. If you do not qualify, we will tell you about other ways to fund your case. In some cases this can be done under a "No Win No Fee" agreement.

Q. What if English is not my first language?

We can provide an interpreter for most languages. Please tell us that you need this service when you first contact us.

Q. What if I have hearing difficulties?

We can arrange for a sign language interpreter to help. Please give us plenty of notice to arrange for this service.

Q. Where can I come and see you?

Our Actions Against the Police department is based at our Walker House office Liverpool City Centre. If it is more convenient, you can call us to arrange a visit to your house.