There are certain rules and procedures police officers in Florida are required to follow when making an arrest. For instance, they generally need to have probable cause before they can place someone in handcuffs and charge them with a crime. Law enforcement officers simply cannot assume that an individual is committing a crime or intends on committing a crime using their gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc.

If a police officer places someone under arrest and fails to follow one or more procedures such as identifying their probable cause, then they may be violating that person’s rights. As a result, an individual may be able to get their charges reduced or dropped.

How to prove an officer violated a person’s rights during their arrest?

Although an officer may have conducted a search of a person’s vehicle without having probable cause or stopped them without having a valid reason while they were walking home which then led to their arrest, there is a good chance they will try and make the arrest look valid. This can make it difficult for an individual to prove their rights were violated. Thankfully, there are Fort Myers, FL criminal defense lawyers who are aware of the steps that need to be taken to help an individual prove their arrest was not justifiable.

Some of the ways a criminal defense attorney in Fort Myers can help someone prove their rights were violated during their arrest include:

• Collect and review dash cam or body cam footage. Dash cam and body cam footage have proven to be useful in many wrongful arrest cases. If the officer had their cameras turned on during their encounter with an individual, an attorney may be able to pull out the pieces they need to show their client’s rights were violated.

• Collect witness statements. If other people were present during the arrest, a statement from them may be useful in proving the arrest was made after an individual’s rights were violated.

• Identify the laws that are used to protect individuals from being wrongfully arrested. There are a number of different laws that aim to protect the rights of individuals and a criminal defense lawyer will be able to identify which were violated.

What happens to criminal charges that stem from a wrongful arrest?

If an individual is successful at proving that an officer violated their rights in order to make the arrest, some or all of the evidence that is being used to charge them may become inadmissible. This means it cannot be used to convict the individual. And without certain pieces of evidence, a prosecutor may or may not have enough support to get the individual convicted.

Get Connected With a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Fort Myers Now

If an individual was arrested for DUI, drug possession, weapons possession, or any other type of criminal offense in Fort Myers and their rights were violated during their encounter with an officer, they can contact Robert Foley Law Firm for legal help. The criminal lawyers at Robert Foley Law Firm will be able to advise them on what their next steps should be and can even provide them with the legal representation they may need to properly fight their charges.

Robert Foley Law Firm can be reached at:

2259 Cleveland Avenue

Fort Myers, FL 33901

Phone: 239-690-6080

Website: www.robertfoleylaw.com