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So your probably sitting at home right now, still shaking from what just happened. Maybe the cops grabbed you off the street for no reason. Maybe they claimed you “fit a description” that could’ve been anyone. Or maybe some officer got pissed off and decided to teach you a lesson by throwing you in cuffs. Look, we get it. Your FURIOUS and confused. And you know what? You should be! Because false arrest violates your fundamental rights under the Fourth Amendment and can get you MASSIVE compensation!
Let me explain what false arrest really means, because alot of people think if there innocent, any arrest is false. That’s not how it works. False arrest happens when cops arrest you WITHOUT probable cause – meaning they had absolutely no reasonable belief you committed ANY crime. Not even suspicion. Nothing.
Here’s what qualifies: Cops rolling up and searching you because your standing on a corner. Officers arresting you because they don’t like your attitude. Getting cuffed because you “look suspicious” in a nice neighborhood. Being detained for filming police activity (which is COMPLETELY LEGAL). Getting arrested based on someone’s lie with zero investigation. Racial profiling where your only “crime” is being Black or Latino in the wrong place.
But here’s what DOESN’T qualify: If cops had any reasonable belief you might’ve done something illegal – even if your totaly innocent – that’s not false arrest. If someone gave a description that matched you, even wrongly, cops can arrest you. If there was a warrant with your name (even if its mistaken identity), not false arrest. The bar for probable cause is shockingly low according to NY Criminal Procedure Law §140.10.
We’ve seen cops literaly make up charges on the spot – “disorderly conduct,” “obstruction,” “resisting arrest” – just to justify there illegal detention. They know most charges get dropped later, but by then the damage is done. You’ve been humiliated, spent time in jail, maybe lost your job, and now have an arrest record following you forever.
This is CRITICAL information that could save your life: You CANNOT legaly resist arrest in New York, even if the arrest is completely illegal! I know that sounds insane, but its the law. If you resist, even a false arrest, YOU become guilty of a seperate crime.
New York is one of the strictest states about this. Under NY Penal Law §205.30, resisting arrest is its own crime. Even if the original charge gets thrown out, even if you sue and WIN for false arrest, you can still be convicted of resisting. Its a Class A misdemeanor – up to a year in jail!
The ONLY exception is self-defense against excessive force that could cause serious injury or death. If a cop is literaly beating you senseless for no reason, you can defend yourself with proportionate force. But that’s incredibly rare and dangerous. Cops will claim YOU attacked THEM, and guess who judges and juries usualy believe?
Here’s what happens in real life: Cop makes illegal arrest. You pull away or argue. They add “resisting arrest” charges. Now even if the original arrest was bogus, your facing real criminal charges. We’ve seen completly innocent people end up with criminal records because they instinctively pulled there arm away when grabbed. The system is rigged to protect cops, not you.
Time limits are EVERYTHING in false arrest cases, and New York makes it complicated as hell with different deadlines for different claims. Miss one deadline and your case is dead forever, no matter how bad the false arrest was.
For suing under federal civil rights law (Section 1983): You have 3 YEARS from the date of arrest. This is your best option because federal law provides the strongest protections and biggest damages. But don’t wait – evidence disappears, witnesses forget, video gets deleted.
For New York state law claims: Only 1 YEAR AND 90 DAYS! That’s way shorter than federal claims. State claims include assault, battery, false imprisonment. Sometimes you need both federal AND state claims for maximum compensation.
But here’s the killer – if your suing the NYPD or any government agency, you MUST file a Notice of Claim within 90 DAYS! Not 90 business days, 90 calendar days from the arrest. Miss this deadline and your screwed, no exceptions. The Notice of Claim has specific requirements under NY General Municipal Law §50-e. One mistake and they throw it out.
After filing the Notice of Claim, the city has 30 days to demand a hearing where they interrogate you under oath. Only AFTER all that can you actualy file a lawsuit, and you must do it within 1 year and 90 days. The process is designed to make you give up.
Let me give you the real numbers, not lawyer fantasy. New York has paid out over $322 MILLION for false arrests since 1989 – more than any other state! But what can YOU actualy get?
Recent settlements we’ve seen: $1 million for someone falsely accused of rape who spent 2 years in jail. $988,000 for a man who had a stroke after false arrest. $510,000 for someone who’s ankle was broken during arrest. $450,000 for a woman falsely charged with attempted murder. $250,000 each for a couple arrested without cause.
But those are the BIG cases. Reality for most people: 24 hours in jail? Maybe $10,000-20,000. Few hours detained with a desk appearance ticket? Under $10,000. No physical injuries? Even less. Unless you have serious injuries requiring hospitalization or spent weeks/months in jail, don’t expect hundreds of thousands according to NYC Criminal Justice Agency data.
What damages can you claim? Lost wages if you missed work or lost your job. Medical bills for any injuries. Therapy costs for emotional trauma. Damage to reputation (hard to prove). Legal fees fighting criminal charges. Pain and suffering (varies wildly). Punitive damages if cops acted maliciously (rare but possible).
Here’s what matters most for big settlements: Video evidence of the false arrest. Clear proof cops KNEW they had no cause. Physical injuries with medical documentation. Time spent in jail (longer = more money). Clean record before the arrest. Media attention to your case.
Technicaly yes, but don’t hold your breath. Cops almost NEVER face criminal charges for false arrests, even blatant ones. The system protects its own, and prosecutors work with cops every day – they don’t want to charge there buddies.
The main charge would be Official Misconduct under NY Penal Law §195.00. That’s when a public servant uses there position to harm someone or benefit themselves illegaly. It’s a Class A misdemeanor – maximum 1 year jail. But we’ve seen cops make hundreds of false arrests and never get charged once.
Federal charges under 18 U.S.C. §242 are possible for violating civil rights, but the feds rarely prosecute unless someone died or there’s massive public pressure. They might also face charges for falsifying records, but again, almost never happens.
What realy happens? Maybe the cop gets “disciplined” – loses some vacation days or gets transferred. Maybe they get fired if there’s video and media attention. But criminal charges? We’ve seen cops on video planting evidence, lying in reports, beating innocent people, and still no charges. The DA needs cops to testify in other cases, so they protect them.
Even when cops DO get charged (usualy only after massive protests), they almost always get acquitted. Juries believe cops. Judges are former prosecutors. The whole system is rigged. Your better off suing for money than expecting criminal justice.
Proving false arrest isn’t about what happened – its about what you can PROVE happened. Cops lie. They cover for each other. They “lose” evidence. Without solid proof, your word against theirs means you lose every time.
Best evidence? VIDEO. Cell phone footage, security cameras, body cams (good luck getting those), dash cams, anything showing the arrest. Video that shows you doing nothing illegal before arrest. Video of cops admitting they have no cause. Video of them making up charges on the spot. We’ve won cases just because video contradicted the police report.
Document everything immediately! Write down badge numbers, car numbers, exact times, exact locations, everything said. Get witness contact info before they disappear. Take photos of the scene. Screenshot any social media posts about it. The more evidence, the stronger your case.
But here’s what you need to know – cops often destroy evidence. Body cam “malfunctions.” Video gets “accidentally” deleted. Witnesses get intimidated. That’s why you need to preserve everything yourself immediately.
Yes, but its complicated and they fight dirty. You can sue individual officers AND the department, but each has different rules and strategies.
Suing individual cops under Section 1983: This federal law lets you sue cops personaly for violating your constitutional rights. But cops have “qualified immunity” – unless they violated “clearly established” law, there protected. Its a huge loophole that lets cops get away with almost anything.
Suing the NYPD/City under state law: You can use “respondeat superior” doctrine – the city is responsible for its employees’ actions. Easier to prove than federal claims. City has deeper pockets than individual cops. But remember that 90-day Notice of Claim deadline!
The city has an army of lawyers who’s only job is fighting these lawsuits. They’ll delay for years. Demand every document from your entire life. Depose everyone you know. Make the process so expensive and painful that you give up. They know most people can’t afford to fight for years.
They’ll offer insulting settlements – $5,000 to make you go away. If you don’t take it, they threaten to make your life hell. They’ll dig up any dirt on you – old arrests, social media posts, anything to make you look bad to a jury. We’ve seen them literaly hire private investigators to follow plaintiffs.
People use these terms interchangeably, but technicaly there different (though in court, we usualy claim both). Understanding the difference can actualy strengthen your case.
False arrest is specificaly about the initial act of arresting you without probable cause. It’s the moment cops put hands on you and take away your freedom illegaly. This violates your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizure. Even if your released immediately, if the arrest itself was illegal, you have a claim.
False imprisonment is the continuing detention after the illegal arrest. Every minute your held without legal justification is false imprisonment. This includes time in the police car, at the precinct, in holding cells, even time on bail if charges were bogus. The longer your held, the more damages you can claim.
Here’s why both matter: Sometimes cops might have questionable cause to initially stop you, but then hold you for hours without any cause at all. Or they arrest you “properly” but then refuse to release you even after learning your innocent. Different violations, different damages.
We always sue for both because juries understand them differently. “False arrest” sounds technical and legal. “False imprisonment” sounds scarier – being locked up against your will. Different claims also have different legal standards and can bypass certain police defenses.
Look, I know lawyers are expensive and you might think you can handle this yourself. Let me tell you why that’s a TERRIBLE idea that will cost you everything.
First, the legal deadlines alone will kill your case. Miss the 90-day Notice of Claim? Case dead forever. File it wrong? Dismissed. Miss any of the other overlapping deadlines? Your done. We see pro se plaintiffs lose cases they should’ve won just because of procedural mistakes.
Second, cops and cities have immunity defenses that are incredibly technical. Qualified immunity, governmental immunity, statutory immunity – if you don’t know how to defeat these, you automaticaly lose. One wrong word in your complaint and the case gets dismissed.
Third, the city will bury you in paperwork. They’ll demand thousands of documents. File dozens of motions. Take endless depositions. Without a lawyer, you won’t even understand what there asking for, much less how to respond properly.
Fourth, calculating damages requires expertise. What’s your pain and suffering worth? How do you prove lost future earnings? What comparable settlements support your demand? Guess wrong and you either get nothing or leave money on the table.
Most important – cops and there lawyers will eat you alive without representation. They’ll trick you into saying things that destroy your case. Get you to admit facts that help them. Make you look like a liar or gold-digger to the jury.
We’re not like those TV lawyers who just want quick settlements. We actualy fight these cases to trial when necessary. We’ve taken on the NYPD and won. We know every dirty trick they use because we’ve seen them all.
When you hire us, we immediately send preservation letters to prevent evidence destruction. We file Freedom of Information requests for all documents, videos, and records. We hire private investigators to find witnesses cops “forgot” to interview. We bring in experts to analyze video evidence and police procedures.
More importantly, we coordinate both the civil lawsuit AND any criminal defense. Most lawyers only do one or the other. If your still facing criminal charges from the false arrest, what you say in the civil case can hurt your criminal defense. We make sure both cases help each other, not hurt.
We also know all the players. Which judges are cop-friendly (most of them). Which city attorneys actualy have authority to settle. Which cops have histories of false arrests (we keep a database). This inside knowledge means better settlements or verdicts.
We work on contingency for false arrest cases – you pay NOTHING unless we win. The city knows we have resources to fight for years if needed. They know we won’t accept lowball settlements. They know we’ll actualy go to trial. That gives us leverage other lawyers don’t have.
Call us RIGHT NOW at 212-300-5196
Evidence disappears FAST – Don’t wait!
Every day you wait, your case gets weaker! Witnesses forget details or disappear completely. Video gets deleted or recorded over. Bruises heal. Documents get “lost.” The cops are already preparing there defense while your sitting there thinking about it.
Don’t let them get away with violating your rights! You deserve justice AND compensation for what they put you through. Whether they held you for an hour or a year, whether you were hurt or just humiliated, false arrest is WRONG and we’ll make them pay!
Disclaimer: Prior results don’t guarantee future outcomes. Every case is unique. The amounts mentioned are examples from various cases, not promises of what your case is worth.
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS