If your child was searched by police in a public place because they were targeted by appearance, and you think their civil rights were violated, you want to find a civil rights lawyer. Your teen shouldn't have to be scared that law enforcement will always stop them, search them, or target them because of the way that they look. Here are a few things that you want to discuss with a lawyer when you make an appointment, and when you try to put a case together against the police.
Reason for Search
You want to explain what the reasoning was for the search, and the lawyer will then determine if they think the search was justified. If there was no reasonable explanation for the police to search the teenager, but instead it was because of something that the child was wearing, saying, or doing, then the lawyer should have a case.
Description of What Your Child Was Wearing
If your child wears clothes that are dark or black, if their hair is dyed a certain color, if they have piercings or tattoos, or if there are other things that make them stand out, the police can't use this as an excuse to target them. Your child has the freedom to look in any way that they wish, so you want to have a report on what exactly the teen was wearing at the time.
Video Surveillance of the Event
If this happened in a busy commercial area with businesses, banks, and traffic lights, the incident may have been recorded by a security system or business camera system. If you can track down some video surveillance of the event with the date and time of the incident, this would be a great addition to your case. If the video shows your teen wasn't doing anything and was targeted, the video is solid evidence.
Your teen is supposed to feel like the police are paid by the taxpayers and the community to help them, not to target them because of the way that they look. If you feel like your teen's civil rights were violated and that the police need to concentrate their efforts on more serious crimes and problems, hire a lawyer like Trammell and Mills Law Firm LLC and put a case together against the officer or officers that stopped and searched your teen for apparently no reason at all.
