Common Misconceptions About Officer-Involved Shootings
There’s an odd phenomenon in America. When a news story goes viral, everyone’s suddenly an expert in the subject matter at hand—and there’s no time when that’s more obvious than in the aftermath of an officer-involved shooting. People who have never interacted with law enforcement in their lives suddenly have expert input on what must have gone wrong, how the shooting victim must have deserved it, and how they were clearly a threat to the officer. It’s in this environment that misconceptions about officer-involved shootings spread like wildfire, making it even more important for victims to have the assistance of an officer-involved shooting law firm.
The Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo is the right choice for your civil rights claim. With an entire team committed to officer misconduct, officer-involved shootings, and similar civil rights violations, attorney Dale K. Galipo is passionate about helping you get the justice and closure you deserve. Call us at 818-347-3333 to set up a time to talk more about your shooting now.
1. All Shootings Are Justified
This misconception can go both ways, although you’re more likely to see the public narrative follow this line of thinking. People put themselves in the police officer’s shoes and imagine knowing that anyone could have a gun and want to hurt them, and in turn, they assume that every shooting is justified. This is also a psychological phenomenon. When people see something bad happen—an innocent person gets shot and killed by police, for example—their mind wants to make sense of it. If they can convince themselves that the victim did something to justify the shooting, they can assure themselves that they would never make a similar mistake. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t true. A substantial number of shootings don’t even involve armed victims; 16% of shootings involve victims without any sort of weapon, which is why having an officer-involved shooting lawyer advocating for you is so important.
2.Police Officers Always Face Legal Action
There is a strong belief that justice always prevails in the United States, so when people hear about officer-involved shootings, there’s an assumption that the officer will always be appropriately punished or disciplined if they had an error in judgment. But this really isn’t the case. Police departments have their own internal affairs departments that investigate whether or not a shooting was justified. Outside the department, prosecutors can decide whether or not to press charges against the officer in question. For many victims, their quest for justice slowly dies here. The prosecutor declines to press charges, the police department investigates itself and finds no sign of wrongdoing, and the victim is left to wrestle with the traumatic aftermath.
3.Body Cameras Capture Everything
Officer-involved shooting attorneys move quickly to recover body cam footage after a shooting. People tend to believe that body cameras are infallible, set to capture every moment of an officer’s day from when they clock in to when they clock out. However, they can fail. The cameras may get bumped during a scuffle and miss important angles. Fabric can muffle the sound quality and negatively impact the recording. And, in a suspicious number of shootings, the body cameras “fail to work” entirely.
4.Officers Are Never Held Accountable, So It’s Not Worth Trying
Many shooting victims give up entirely before they even take the first step of talking to an officer-involved shooting lawyer. While holding officers accountable for an unnecessary shooting may be an uphill battle that requires a substantial amount of work and evidence, that does not mean you shouldn’t even try. Skilled civil rights lawyers have dedicated their lives to helping victims like you clear their names and demand justice. The sooner you connect with an officer-involved shooting attorney and the less you talk about what happened to you to the news and other media sources, the better chance you have at getting the closure you deserve.
Every single avoidable officer-involved shooting fractures the community, making it harder for residents to trust police. By taking steps to hold negligent officers accountable, you can do your part to improve policing standards.
Let’s Talk—Call Our Officer-Involved Shooting Law Firm Today
When you’re ready to move forward and pursue a claim against the officer who shot you, the team at the Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo is here for you. Schedule a consultation online or call us at 818-347-3333 now.
