By Attorney Gil Sanchez
What is an “excessive force” case? When a police officer (or jail/prison official) uses more force than the Constitution allows, you may have a claim under 42 U.S.C. $ 1983. Which rule applies depends on your status at the moment force was used: the Fourth Amendment covers force during street encounters and arrests; the Fourteenth Amendment covers pretrial detainees in jail; and the Eighth Amendment covers convicted prisoners. These aren’t technicalities—they set the standard of proof you must meet. Under the Fourth, courts ask whether the force was objectively reasonable in light of the severity of the offense, the immediate threat, and resistance or flight. Under the Fourteenth, the question is whether the force was objectively unreasonable in the jail setting. Under the Eighth, the focus is whether officials acted maliciously and sadistically to cause harm rather than to restore order.
How do courts decide these cases? In plain English, judges look at the totality of the circumstances—what the officer knew, what you were doing, whether there was a real-time threat, and whether you were resisting or already restrained. Deadly force (firearms or lethal strikes) is tightly limited to situations where there is probable cause that a person poses a significant, immediate threat of death or serious physical injury. Video (body-cam, dash-cam, cell phone), 911/CAD audio, TASER logs, K-9 records, medical reports, and witness statements usually decide these cases.
Example where force is justified (no case): An officer stops a robbery suspect who suddenly points a handgun at a group of people. The suspect refuses commands and moves the gun toward the crowd. In that instant, a reasonable officer can view the suspect as an immediate deadly threat; using deadly force to stop the threat is constitutionally justified under the Fourth Amendment. That is not an excessive-force case.
Example where force is not justified (strong case): Officers handcuff a compliant person who is not resisting and then slam their head on a trunk or punch them “for good measure.” That kind of gratuitous force on a restrained, non-threatening person has been repeatedly held unconstitutional. Likewise, in jail, using force to punish a detainee (rather than control a real threat) is unlawful; and in prison, force used maliciously and sadistically crosses the Eighth Amendment line—even if injuries are not severe.
What to do if this happens to you.
First, get medical care.
Then, preserve evidence immediately: names and phone numbers of witnesses, incident/complaint numbers, photos of injuries, and any videos.
Write down exactly what happened while it’s fresh. Ask that nearby cameras (storefronts, homes) preserve footage.
Contact us quickly—deadlines apply, and body-cam/dispatch data can be overwritten. We analyze your status (Fourth vs. Fourteenth vs. Eighth Amendment), lock down evidence, and build your case under $ 1983.
Full Text of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 — Civil action for deprivation of rights
“Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.”
