Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Montana

Police brutality and/or misconduct

My son was arrested for DUI and taken to booking. He remembers nothing from that time. He suffered a fractured skull and hematoma while restrained and under arrest for the DUI. After finding him unconscious he was rushed to hospital ICU by police. I suspect he was struck on the head with some object by the police and we want to pursue civil and/or action against them. His Dr. made statements to the effect that he didn't want to be involved however he felt my son was struck with something very hard. What is considered ''reasonable force'' that can be used by police officers during arrest and or booking? We are pursuing a motion for discovery by pleading not guilty to the DUI but need help finding a lawyer in our area with the guts to take on a small town police dept. We are also worried that the P.D. may ''misplace'' evidence such as video tapes before we are able to obtain them. Where do we go from here? Our criminal attorney for the DUI will not take a civil rights case.


Asked on 2/24/05, 11:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark S. Moroknek Kelly & Curtis, PLLC.

Re: Police brutality and/or misconduct

I don't practice law in Montana but if you are sure there was no car accident that could have caused the injury, what you must do is find a local criminal defense attorney who will either be able to also pursue a federal civil action under 42 USC 1983, (that statute is applicable to situations of discrimination under color of State Law) or a similar State statute if there is no discrimination involved, or refer you to another attorney who can.

It then essentially becomes assault.

"Reasonable" differs from case to case based on the resistance to arrest. You need to find out where and when the injury occurred in relation to the arrest.

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Answered on 2/25/05, 10:58 am


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