A traffic stop goes sideways. An arrest turns violent. An officer draws a weapon in a situation that didn’t call for one. In the moments after something like this happens, victims are often left shaken, injured, and unsure whether what just occurred was even wrong — let alone whether it’s something they can do something about. The answer, in many cases, is yes. And what you do in the hours and days that follow can determine everything.
What Is a Civil Rights Violation?
The United States Constitution guarantees every person protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to due process, and the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. When law enforcement officers violate those rights, they can be held accountable in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, one of the most powerful civil rights statutes in American law. Section 1983 allows individuals to sue government officials — including police officers — who deprive them of constitutional rights while acting under color of state law. You don’t need to have been convicted of a crime. You don’t need to be innocent of everything. You need to have had your constitutional rights violated.
What Qualifies as Excessive Force?
Excessive force claims are evaluated under the Fourth Amendment’s “objective reasonableness” standard. This means courts ask whether the force used was reasonable given what a reasonable officer would have done in the same situation. Factors include the severity of the alleged crime, whether the suspect posed an immediate threat, and whether they were actively resisting or fleeing.
Excessive force can include striking a person who is already restrained, deploying a taser or pepper spray unnecessarily, using a chokehold or positional restraint that restricts breathing, shooting an unarmed person, or using force against someone who was complying with commands. It can happen during an arrest, a traffic stop, a welfare check, or even while someone is already in custody.
Police in Nevada are also governed by NRS 171.1455 and departmental use-of-force policies. Violations of those internal policies don’t automatically create legal liability — but they are relevant evidence in building your case.
Racial Profiling and Discriminatory Policing
Being stopped, searched, or treated differently by law enforcement because of your race, ethnicity, or national origin is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Racial profiling claims are among the most challenging to prove — but they are absolutely actionable when the evidence supports them. Traffic stop patterns, officer history, witness testimony, and body camera footage all play a role in establishing discriminatory motive. If you believe you were targeted because of who you are rather than what you did, that experience deserves to be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
Unlawful Arrest and False Imprisonment
A lawful arrest requires either a warrant or probable cause (a reasonable belief based on articulable facts that a crime was committed and that you committed it). Arrests made without probable cause, based on mistaken identity, or in retaliation for exercising your constitutional rights (such as filming police or refusing an unlawful search) may give rise to a § 1983 claim. Even if charges were later filed, if the initial arrest lacked legal justification, the constitutional violation may still be actionable.
Qualified Immunity — The Biggest Obstacle and How We Navigate It
Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that shields government officials from civil liability unless their conduct violated a “clearly established” constitutional right. This means a prior court decision put the officer on notice that their specific conduct was unconstitutional. It is the single biggest challenge in civil rights litigation, and it has shielded officers from accountability in cases that many would consider obvious violations. Navigating qualified immunity requires deep familiarity with controlling case law, careful pleading strategy, and experienced civil rights litigation. This is not an area where general practice or guesswork is sufficient. It is an area where having the right attorneys — ones who understand both the doctrine and its limits — makes an enormous difference.
Critical Steps to Take Immediately After an Incident
Seek medical attention. Even if you feel you can push through it, document your injuries through medical records. Photographs of injuries should be taken as soon as possible and updated over the following days as bruising and swelling develop.
Write everything down. Memory fades and details matter. Write a detailed account of exactly what happened including: what was said, in what order, by whom, and what you observed. Do this before speaking to anyone else about the incident.
Identify witnesses. Anyone who saw what happened — bystanders, other passengers, business owners nearby — could be critical. Get names and contact information if possible.
Preserve any video. If you or anyone nearby recorded the incident, preserve that footage immediately. Do not post it publicly until you’ve spoken to an attorney. Body camera footage from the officers involved can be requested through public records demands. However, those requests must be made promptly, before footage is overwritten or destroyed.
Immediately file a notice of claim. Under NRS 41.036, claims against Nevada governmental entities require a written notice of claim to be filed within a specific timeframe. Missing this deadline can permanently bar your civil rights claim regardless of how strong the underlying facts are. This is not a step to delay.
What Damages Can You Recover?
Successful § 1983 claims can result in compensatory damages which can cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress — as well as punitive damages in cases involving particularly egregious conduct. Critically, § 1983 also provides for attorney’s fees to prevailing plaintiffs, which means that in many civil rights cases, your legal fees are recoverable from the defendant if you win. This is one of the few areas of law where that provision exists and it is a significant advantage for victims pursuing justice.
Why This Work Matters to Us
Civil rights litigation is not just practice area for Lawyers With Attitude, it is a commitment. We believe that accountability is the foundation of a just system, and that every person who has been harmed by those in power deserves an advocate who will stand in that gap with them. We take these cases because the work matters, because our community deserves representation, and because the only way the system changes is when people refuse to stay silent and attorneys refuse to look away.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you or a loved one has experienced police misconduct, excessive force, or a civil rights violation in Nevada, contact Lawyers With Attitude immediately at (702) 881-2212. Time is critical — do not wait.