Woke up wrong

[Journey09]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota
While executing a search warrent 3 officers woke me from a deep sleep. Quick run down: This happened in a period of 2-3 minutes. 3 officers entered the bedroom, lights were off, 1 officer believed he saw a silhouette of a hand gun, the three offices then requested to see my hands that of course were covered by a blanket. Not responding quick enough the one officer drive stunned me causing my to fall off the bed. Another officer then put me back onto the bed at which point I was tazed then stood up and hand-cuffed. I was charged with "obstructing legal process". Went to jail overnight, released the next day. Went to court and was aquitted. No other charges were filed against me.
After several trips to court, the DA wanted me to pay a fine and court costs I am considering filing a suit against the officers. Is there enough merit here and what type of lawyer would I need to consider?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Proserpina]

Originally Posted by Journey09

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota
While executing a search warrent 3 officers woke me from a deep sleep. Quick run down: This happened in a period of 2-3 minutes. 3 officers entered the bedroom, lights were off, 1 officer believed he saw a silhouette of a hand gun, the three offices then requested to see my hands that of course were covered by a blanket. Not responding quick enough the one officer drive stunned me causing my to fall off the bed. Another officer then put me back onto the bed at which point I was tazed then stood up and hand-cuffed. I was charged with "obstructing legal process". Went to jail overnight, released the next day. Went to court and was aquitted. No other charges were filed against me.
After several trips to court, the DA wanted me to pay a fine and court costs I am considering filing a suit against the officers. Is there enough merit here and what type of lawyer would I need to consider?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

A suit for what?

[CdwJava]

What do you want to sue the police for? Knowing what you will sue for, and who you intend to sue, will depend on whether you need an attorney experienced in personal injury law, federal Constitutional law, or state statutes concerning whatever it is you allege happened in violation of the law.

Consult a few attorneys and see what they have to say. If they do handsprings and cartwheels, and agree to take your case on contingency (meaning they will get a piece of the settlement) then you can be pretty sure that the attorney thinks that at least HE will get paid. If the attorney says you have a good case, but wants his money up front, you might want to consider walking away. Or, spend the same $10,000 on a weekend at a gambling establishment, because you might do better at Blackjack than in court.

- Carl

[GaAtty]

Yes, you can sue for use of excessive force. I assume that no officers had any injuries from this event. One problem is going to be that you have no witnesses, but that is not insurmountable. You will need to know the names of the officers. You must bring any such case within 2 years, so start looking for an attorney, and the sooner the better. You do not even need to think of a personal injury lawyer. You need a civil rights attorney who does police misconduct. They do these kinds of cases all the time. Such cases are usually done partially on contingency and with some payment up front. These cases usually take more than 2 years, so just because the attorney asks for some money up front, that doesn't mean that it is a questionable case. The attorney would not take the case if it is no good, because most really good civil rights attorneys who do police misconduct are swamped with requests for them to take cases. In other words, they have their choice of cases to take because they have so many people asking. If you prevail in such a case, the attorney will get most of his/her fees through an attorney's fees provision that is in civil rights statutes; in other words, the other side has to pay your attorney's fees. Be sure that you get an experienced attorney who has been doing police misconduct for a number of years, because the legal immunity issues are complex.

[ecmst12]

What excessive force? What injuries did OP suffer? A tazer is considered minimal force since it does not cause permanent damage. When no officers are injured that is usually considered a successful capture.