a civil rights violation?

I am interested in some legal advice concerning the rights of my son during an arrest in which no charges were filed. Last winter (Jan. '00) my son (a freshman at S.U.N.Y Plattsburg) was arrested by Plattsburg City Police (New York) for "disturbing the peace" I think it was...he was taken to the police station and strip- searched (after being thrown to the ground and nearly choked to death by a very large policeman)and held overnight. He was released the next day and no charges were filed. I do have a copy of the police report somewhere and he has always said that there were several witnesses. He came home (withdrew from the University there)soon after that. We never pursued this matter of what was clearly, I think, a case of police brutality and a violation of his civil rights. Why? Primarily because we live in Ohio, 12 hours from this town, and figured it'd just be too expensive. But I've never felt good about just letting it go and, for my own peace of mind, would love to know what we could've done to have more completely supported our son in seeking justice for being treated this way. If you have any legal information, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.


The new york civilian complaint organization for police brutality and other things:
http://eastvillage.about.com/citiestowns/midlanticus/eastvillage/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/ccrb/home.html

Civil rights organizations:
http://eastvillage.about.com/citiestowns/midlanticus/eastvillage/msubcivilrights.htm