Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

i have a question regarding how to proceed with a lawsuit against a local law enforcement agency. this agency had obtained a search warrant for a separate property, but came on to my property which is clearly separated by a large fence and locked gate. they reached through the fence to let themselves on to the property which was not part of their warrant. they failed to announce their presence or intentions at this time. there were two non-violent, family dogs confined within the locked gate. when the officers came unannounced on to the property one of the dogs began to bark, not attack, just bark. that is when i became aware of the intruders and came outside. at this time i heard gunshots and arrived at the fence area to see that my dog had been shot in the head by the officer. the dog suffered fatal injuries due to the officers neglecting to announce themselves at the gate, give me proper time to respond and failing to stay within the original guidelines of their warrant. several formal complaints filed with the law enforcement agency in question have been effectively ignored. please help.


Asked on 4/21/10, 3:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

I'm so sorry to hear about this. You may have a good case against the officers, though it's hard to say how much it might be worth.

There are very strict deadlines for claims against government entitles. Plaintiffs must usually present an administrative claim before they sue, and the deadlines for the administrative claims can be quite short. You should discuss your case in more detail with a lawyer so you can learn what you need to do and by when. Hopefully your time hasn't run out already.

Good luck.

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Answered on 4/26/10, 3:47 pm


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