Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in New Jersey
police harrassmanet
My daughters boyfriend is being harrassed by a local police officer, every single time he see's the boyfriend the cop pulls him over and gives him tickets. Does a cop need a reason to pull a car over or can he stop him for just any reason, He has stoped him 4 times in 1 month period of time. When he called the police station to ask to sign a harrassment complaint on the police officer the station said you cant sign a complaint about a police officer. that dont sound right to me
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: police harrassmanet
The law requires the police officer to have probable cause to believe that the driver is in violation of the law to effect a motor vehicle stop. In some instances, the police are permitted to stop a vehicle as part of their community caretaking function if they have reason to believe that the person may be in danger or some other type of trouble exists.
Each police department maintains an internal affairs officer to investigate complaints against police officers. I suggest that you write directly to the chief of police regarding you concerns if you choose to pursue that course of action.