Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside & Orange Counties

When police or correction officers use excessive force in jail or prison, it can violate the Constitution if it causes serious injury or death to a person or inmate. Examples of these cases are in-custody deaths that result from asphyxiation or suffocation in jail or prison from choke holds, the use of “spit hoods,” (a mask to prevent a person from spitting) the use of restraint chairs, as well as undue pressure applied to a person’s upper back or neck area during such restraint by a police officer or a correctional officer.

The attorneys at the Sehat Law Firm have been successful in many cases involving excessive force which causes serious injuries or wrongful death while in custody. We are committed to prosecuting on your behalf for any unwarranted abuse of power.

Often when a loved one of yours dies in custody in jail or prison, the officers or jailers involved do not give a detailed explanation of what happened and sometimes they can even be misleading. In situations like this, such causes of death will include “excited delirium,” or death due to drug intoxication, preexisting medical conditions, or many other various reasons that often do not add up. Without the assistance of our skilled attorneys to fight for your rights, the officers or state agencies involved may never reveal the truth of what really happened behind those cold steel jail cells. That is why we exist so that we can seek justice on your behalf and fight for what is right. We will demand the answers that you seek, and we will fight tooth and nail when the evidence strongly suggests that the death of your family member was preventable or even wrongful.

Police officers and correctional officers alike can use too much force as prisoners also have constitutional rights that should be protected. On occasion, a correctional officer will forget this right or outright reject it when they overreact to a situation to the extent that an inmate suffocated due to an improperly trained or overzealous guard. At the Sehat Law Firm, we will take our time to evaluate cases that suggest such officers have caused an inmate/family member to die by excessive force.

Our Attorneys Handle Excessive Force Cases in Los Angeles and Beyond

The Sehat Law Firm has handled many cases that involve illegal methods such as hog-ties, spit hoods, use of OC chemical spray, and officers who apply excessive pressure to a person’s upper back or neck area which can impair their breathing. Officers are supposed to be trained appropriately to avoid methods like these which can stop the person’s breathing, but in situations like the George Floyd case –where the officer clearly failed to notice or more likely blatantly ignored his plea for help—they have not been properly trained. Far too often in jails and prisons officers will apply force to the point of causing death by suffocation or asphyxiation from the lack of air.

In a situation where an officer has used too much force in jail or prison, you may have a constitutional claim and a lawsuit for civil damages against the government. One of our experienced attorneys can look at your situation and determine what type of claim you have. For example: where an inmate was held in jail unconvicted as a “pretrial detainee” or where they were held as a convicted prisoner. The standards of law will differ based on these categorizations. The lawyers at the Sehat Law Firm are well trained in these types of constitutional legal standards regarding force used by jail guards and correctional officers and constantly grow their knowledge in this field of law.

Police and Prison Guard Illegal Excessive Force

At the Sehat Law Firm, we have a strong belief in the rights of inmates to be free from such illegal excessive force, deliberate indifference, and other forms of abuse that others would not. This is especially true when the death of a loved one or great harm was caused by it. We will work night and day to ensure that those responsible pay civilly for their actions where the facts suggest that there was wrongdoing or misconduct. We are very careful with the cases that we decide to take, but when we do take a case we will give it everything we have and we are willing to go all the way until you and your loved ones see the justice that you deserve.

Publicly and privately ran jails put up a tough fight to defend themselves and they do not go down easy. However, at the Sehat Law Firm, we believe that victims of jail abuse/police excessive force must have strong advocates to win and that is exactly what we provide. The success of your case is dependent on the hard work and passion that each of our attorneys at the Sehat Law Firm possesses. Rest assured, we will fight for your civil rights and justice for the people who have been the unfortunate victim of abuse or neglect from the offices who swore to protect them.