False Imprisonment Attorney Brooklyn

Your freedom is not optional for Brooklyn police to respect. When officers detain you without reasonable suspicion, arrest you without probable cause, or keep you in custody beyond what the law allows, they commit false imprisonment. I hold NYPD accountable and recover damages for unconstitutional detention.

Brooklyn Residents Who Refused to Accept Unlawful Detention

Detained Without Justification in Brooklyn

Officers corner you on a Brooklyn street and tell you to stay put. You haven’t done anything. You know you haven’t done anything. But you’re not allowed to leave.
The confusion sets in when no one will tell you what you supposedly did. You ask questions. They ignore you. You ask if you’re under arrest. They say they’re “checking on something.”
Handcuffs cut into your wrists while you stand on the public sidewalk. Neighbors walk by. Friends you recognize. Family members who see you in custody and wonder what happened.
Maybe they put you in the back seat of a patrol car. Those door handles don’t work from inside. You’re trapped, watching life continue outside the window while you sit there, restrained, with no explanation.
Or maybe they take you to the precinct. The holding area where time seems to stop. Where asking repeatedly why you’re being held gets you nowhere. Where your phone buzzes with messages you can’t access while your life continues without you.
The surreal feeling settles in. You’re captive. Controlled. Treated as guilty without anyone explaining what you’re guilty of. The raw injustice of it burns.
This is what false imprisonment looks like. It’s the theft of your freedom without justification. It’s being trapped when you know you’ve broken no laws. It’s the violation of being held against your will while officers refuse to explain why.

+1 (718) 662 8265

The Consequences When Police Steal Your Time

The unlawful detention ends, but the damage doesn’t. It spreads through your life like cracks in glass.
Your career takes a hit. Maybe you’re fired for the unexplained absence. Maybe suspended. Maybe your professional reputation is damaged because word gets around. Clients, colleagues, supervisors hearing you were detained by police without understanding you weren’t charged.

The practical consequences pile up fast:

Kids left waiting at school or daycare with no one to pick them up
Bills that went unpaid because you were locked up instead of handling responsibilities
Doctor appointments you missed (and got charged for)
Court dates for other matters you couldn’t attend
Job interviews that happened without you

The financial strain hits immediately. Wages lost during detention. Costs from the chaos your absence created. Late fees. Cancellation fees. Emergency childcare expenses. Money gone because officers decided to detain you without justification.

Relationships suffer. Partners don’t understand why you couldn’t call. Parents worry when you don’t show up. Friends wonder what’s happening when you vanish for hours without explanation.

Education gets disrupted. Missing lectures, study groups, or examinations. Falling behind in coursework. Professors who don’t accept “detained by police” as a valid excuse, especially when no charges resulted.

Pets left home alone longer than safe. Events you’ll never get back. Birthday parties, graduations, important milestones missed because you were unlawfully detained.

The psychological impact lingers longest. Constant anxiety about being randomly detained again. Changing your routes to avoid certain areas. Developing fear responses around police. Hypervigilance that exhausts you.

Here’s what you need to know: Officers need legal grounds to restrict your movement. Suspicion alone is not enough. When they detain you without proper justification, everything that follows is their responsibility, not yours.

The Law That Limits Police Power to Detain

The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable seizures of your person. That includes any detention or arrest without legal justification.

Police must have reasonable suspicion for an investigative stop (sometimes called a Terry stop). That means specific facts suggesting criminal activity. Not a general feeling about the neighborhood. Not your appearance. Specific facts about you.

Arrest requires probable cause. That means facts indicating you likely committed a crime. Officers must have this probable cause at the moment of arrest, not after they detain you and start looking for it.

What doesn’t justify individual detention:

Generalized suspicion or area-based enforcement
Your presence in a “high-crime area”
Fitting a vague physical description
Officer intuition or hunches
Desire to “run your name” without initial basis for stop

Officers cannot hold you to develop probable cause. They need justification when the detention begins, not justification they hope to find.

Duration of detention must be reasonably related to the purpose of the stop. If they stopped you about one thing, they can’t keep you there indefinitely investigating other things.

Escalating from a stop to an arrest requires additional justification. The reasonable suspicion that justified a brief stop doesn’t automatically justify taking you into custody.

Probable cause must exist at the moment of arrest, not developed afterward. Evidence discovered during an unlawful detention doesn’t retroactively justify that detention.

Taking you into custody triggers the arrest standard. That means transporting you to a precinct requires probable cause, not just reasonable suspicion.

Even if you fit a general profile, officers need individualized suspicion about you specifically. Being in a certain place at a certain time isn’t enough.

I spent eight years as an NYPD detective. I know what legal justification looks like and what excuses look like. I know when officers are stretching the truth to cover unlawful conduct. I know how to prove it.

You Didn't Have to Stay. They Made You.

False imprisonment occurs when police restrain your freedom without legal authority. It doesn’t matter if you were never formally arrested, never read your rights, or never taken to jail. If officers detained you without reasonable suspicion, arrested you without probable cause, or held you longer than legally permitted, your constitutional rights were violated.

I investigate the circumstances and pursue compensation for the unlawful detention.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I hear you. I can imagine how horrible this felt. I'm sorry they hurt you. As someone who worked inside this system, I understand what you went through.

Establishing your case starts with obtaining all police paperwork. Arrest reports, DD5s, complaint reports. These documents show what officers claimed justified the detention.

I file Freedom of Information Law requests for body-worn camera footage from all officers present. This captures the initial encounter, what was said, how you were treated, and how long you were held.

Precinct security footage shows when you arrived and when you were released. It creates an objective timeline that can't be disputed.

I analyze 911 calls or radio runs that prompted the officer response. What information did they have before the encounter? Did that information justify detaining you?

I depose officers about what they knew when detention began:

What specific facts made them suspicious of you?
What did they think you had done or were about to do?
Why couldn't you leave?

What took so long?
I examine whether their stated reasons meet legal standards. I compare what they claim with what the Fourth Amendment actually requires. I identify gaps and inconsistencies.

I consult Fourth Amendment scholars on constitutional requirements. These experts can explain to judges and juries exactly why your detention violated the law.

Witness statements from anyone who saw the initial encounter corroborate your version of events. Neighbors, bystanders, anyone who was there.

I document everything you missed during the unlawful detention. Pay stubs showing lost wages. Appointment confirmations you couldn't keep. Communication logs showing missed obligations.

I work extensively in Brooklyn and know the precincts: 60th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd, 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 81st, 83rd, 84th, 88th, 90th, and 94th. I know which commands have patterns of unlawful detention.

I reconstruct a timeline showing when detention exceeded legal bounds. Even if the initial stop was lawful, I prove the moment it became unlawful detention.

Let me be honest with you about what we can realistically expect based on my experience with the city. I'm building the strongest possible case to secure the justice you deserve. The system is designed to work against you, but I know how to fight back.

I can help you hold NYPD financially accountable for their actions and the harm they caused. This is about restoring your dignity.

Damages are calculated based on the length of unlawful detention. Every hour matters. Every minute matters. Your time has value. Your freedom has value.

You can recover for:

Lost income for time you were prevented from working
Job consequences stemming from the detention
Emotional distress, anxiety, and trauma
Humiliation of public detention in your community
Physical discomfort of restraints or confinement
Disrupted responsibilities and damaged relationships

If officers deliberately ignored constitutional limits, you may be entitled to punitive damages. These punish the officers and deter future violations.

Medical expenses if you suffered injuries during detention can be recovered. Whether physical injuries from excessive force or psychological injuries from the trauma.

You can recover even without criminal charges being filed. In fact, charges being dismissed or never filed actually strengthens your claim. It suggests officers knew they lacked sufficient basis.

The amount depends on multiple factors. Duration of detention. Conditions you endured. What you lost as a result. The harm you suffered.

Based on my insider experience working with the city, I can give you an honest assessment of what your case is worth. I don't make promises I can't keep, but I fight to maximize your recovery.

You deserve justice, and I'm going to fight to get it for you.

Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of the false imprisonment. This is not flexible. This is not negotiable. Exactly 90 days.

The 90-day period begins on the date of detention, not the date of release. Not when charges were dismissed. Not when you decided to sue. The day it happened.

This deadline is jurisdictional. Missing it means you cannot sue, period. Courts have no discretion to extend it. No exceptions exist. No second chances.

Your criminal case schedule doesn't pause the 90-day clock. Many people wait to resolve criminal charges first and lose their civil claim entirely. Don't make that mistake.

Waiting to resolve criminal charges first may cost you:

The entire civil claim if 90 days passes
Critical evidence that disappears over time
Witness memories that fade or witnesses who move
Video footage that gets overwritten after retention periods

Early filing preserves evidence while it still exists. Body camera footage has storage limits. Precinct videos get recorded over. Officer reports are freshest right after incidents.

Witness memories are strongest immediately after the event. People move, change phone numbers, become harder to locate as time passes.

I handle civil claims even while criminal cases are pending. I coordinate both. Pursuing your civil rights doesn't jeopardize criminal defense. They work together.

Let me walk you step by step through the process and make this as simple as possible. I handle the filing requirements. I preserve the evidence. I meet every deadline. You focus on your life.

Don't wait. Act now while you still can.

I have a successful track record recovering damages for unlawful detention. I have thorough understanding of detention law and Fourth Amendment limits. I know these limits because I enforced them as a detective and now I hold officers accountable when they violate them.

I'm familiar with Brooklyn precincts and their detention procedures. I know which commands have cultures of unlawful stops. I know the neighborhoods where this happens most. I know the communities that are targeted.

I know when police cross the line from lawful enforcement to false imprisonment. I recognize the tactics. I know the excuses. I know how to counter them.

When you work with me, you get:

Someone who validates your experience and fights to prove officers lacked justification
Direct communication without layers of bureaucracy
Honest assessments based on insider knowledge
Aggressive litigation against NYPD and individual officers
Immediate action to preserve evidence and meet deadlines

I work on contingency for civil rights claims. No recovery means no attorney fees. This is about access to justice, not creating financial barriers.

I handle both criminal defense and civil rights claims. I coordinate them so protecting your civil rights doesn't interfere with criminal defense.

I provide accessible representation for Brooklyn communities. I take your experience seriously. I believe you. I fight for your dignity.

I can help you hold NYPD financially accountable for their actions and the harm they caused. This is about getting your dignity back.

Brooklyn False Imprisonment Questions

Can police keep me detained until they find something to charge me with?

No. Detention must be justified from the beginning. Officers cannot hold you hoping to develop probable cause. If they lacked legal basis when detention started, it’s false imprisonment regardless of what they eventually found or charged you with afterward.

What if officers claimed they detained me for my own safety?

Officer safety or public safety can justify detention only in specific circumstances. Vague claims of concern don’t override the Fourth Amendment. I examine whether the safety justification was legitimate or just a pretext for unlawful detention.

Is being detained in handcuffs different from being formally arrested?

Handcuffing is significant restraint requiring greater justification. While not always formal arrest, it must be supported by reasonable suspicion of danger or probable cause. Unjustified handcuffing can constitute false imprisonment even without formal arrest.

What if I was detained because someone called 911 about me?

A 911 call may justify initial police response but doesn’t automatically justify detaining you. Officers must independently assess the situation and have their own basis for detention. Anonymous or vague complaints are typically insufficient to justify detention.

Can I sue if I was only detained but not arrested or charged?

Absolutely. False imprisonment includes any unlawful restriction of freedom. You don’t need to have been arrested, charged, or taken to jail. Being unlawfully detained anywhere for any duration is actionable under civil rights law.

What if the charges against me are still pending?

You can pursue a false imprisonment claim even with pending charges. The civil claim focuses on whether detention was initially justified, not whether you’re ultimately convicted. Many plaintiffs have pending criminal cases when they file civil claims.

Assert Your Right to Freedom

Police cannot detain you simply because they want to. Constitutional protections limit officer authority over your freedom. False imprisonment claims provide accountability and compensation. Your unlawful detention deserves a legal response. I offer free consultations on contingency. Act now before the 90-day deadline passes. I believe you and fight for your freedom rights.