When Those Sworn to Protect You, Hurt You.
The badge is not a license to abuse power. If your constitutional rights were violated by law enforcement, Saffold Law fights to hold them accountable. We are not afraid to sue the police.
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Who Polices the Police?
We trust law enforcement to uphold the law, not break it. When an officer uses excessive force, plants evidence, or targets you based on your race, it is a betrayal of public trust and a violation of the Constitution.
At Saffold Law, we specialize in Federal Civil Rights Litigation (Section 1983 claims). Led by a former prosecutor, we know the police playbook. We know how they write reports to cover their tracks, and we know how to uncover the truth to secure justice for victims of brutality and misconduct.
Qualified Immunity
Suing a police officer is not like suing a regular citizen. They are protected by a legal doctrine called Qualified Immunity, which shields them from lawsuits unless you can prove they violated “clearly established” rights.
This is why you need an expert.
Many general lawyers fail to overcome this hurdle. We build our cases specifically to defeat Qualified Immunity by citing specific precedents and proving that any reasonable officer would have known their actions were illegal.
Types of Misconduct We Litigate
We represent victims in high-stakes civil rights cases.
1. Excessive Force (Police Brutality)
Officers are only allowed to use the amount of force necessary to handle a situation. Anything more is a crime. We handle cases involving:
- Unjustified Shootings: Using lethal force against unarmed or fleeing suspects.
- Taser & Baton Abuse: Using weapons on compliant individuals.
- Chokeholds & Restraints: Illegal maneuvers that cause asphyxiation or injury.
2. False Arrest & Imprisonment
If an officer arrests you without “Probable Cause,” they have violated your 4th Amendment rights. If the charges against you were dismissed because the arrest was bogus, you may have a civil claim for damages.
3. Malicious Prosecution
When officers lie, plant evidence, or hide exculpatory evidence (Brady violations) to force a conviction, they are destroying your life. We sue to recover damages for the time you spent wrongly incarcerated and the damage to your reputation.
4. Unlawful Search & Seizure
The 4th Amendment protects your home and property. If police kicked down your door without a warrant or searched your car without legal justification, we fight to vindicate your privacy rights.
5. Failure to Intervene
If an officer stands by and watches their partner beat a suspect without trying to stop it, they are just as guilty. We sue all officers present who failed to uphold their duty to protect.
What We Fight For (Your Outcomes)
Civil rights lawsuits are about more than money; they are about change.
Compensatory Damages:
Payment for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Punitive Damages:
Money intended to punish the officer and the department for malicious conduct.
Policy Reform:
Many of our settlements include requirements for the police department to change their training or use-of-force policies.
How We Build Your Strategy
1. Evidence Preservation (The "Spoliation" Letter)
Immediately after you hire us, we send a legal demand to the police department to preserve all Body Cam footage, Dash Cam video, and radio logs. If they delete it after receiving this letter, the court can punish them.
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2. The Investigation
We don’t rely on the police report (which is often written to justify the abuse). We interview independent witnesses, hire forensic experts, and analyze medical records to reconstruct the event.
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3. Federal Court
Most of these cases end up in Federal Court. We are experienced litigators in the Western District of Texas and know how to navigate the complex federal rules to keep your case alive.
Demand Accountability.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of police misconduct, silence is not an option. Contact Saffold Law to fight back.
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