Orange County Peace Officer Representation

Peace Officer Employment Law Cases

When you are in a job such as a peace officer, there may be times in your career when you are accused of wrongdoing or receive some sort of consequence for this accusation. If have been accused of wrongdoing, you need to reach out to our peace officer employment lawyer right away so we can get started on processing your claim and giving you the best chance possible at protecting your rights.

You may have been accused of one of the following things:

• Officer involved shooting
• Violating department policy
• Performing a search that would be considered improper and unlawful
• Making an arrest without having probable cause
• Using excessive force

If you are being investigated for any accusation, then we urge you to reach out to us as soon as you can. The sooner that you reach out to our attorney for Orange County peace officer representation, the sooner we can get you protected.

We understand that being accused of misconduct can be an extremely stressful situation for someone who’s operative is to protect their community and enforce the laws to make a safer environment for everyone. We can get started with you during your first consultation to protect your rights.

Choosing An Attorney for Orange County Peace Officer Representation

When you are choosing your peace officer employment lawyer, it is important that you choose someone who knows how these cases work. Cases involving peace officers can be very complicated and require someone who has had a proven track record of handling these cases successfully.

As agents of the government, peace officers often have complicated cases. Our firm is always up-to-date on the latest laws and regulations regarding peace officers. We have the track record to prove that we can handle any type of case no matter how challenging. If you are looking for someone to fiercely represent you and your employment issue, please get in contact with us right away.

In addition to representing employees in wrongful employment practices such as discrimination and wrongful termination, we also serve peace officers in administrative matters. We represent officers in a wide range of administrative matters such as administrative investigations, disciplinary matters, use of force incidents, and officer-involved shootings.

If you believe you may be subjected to an administrative investigation, then we urge you to reach out to us as soon as you can, and definitely before any interview.

Related Videos

Peace Officer Claims

In addition to peace officer-specific claims, you can also file claims that anyone who is in a job that isn’t a government position could file, including claims related to harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. When you are a peace officer, however, you know that your job has a lot of unique duties. You could be wrongfully disciplined, suspended, fired or removed from some of your duties based on your job as a peace officer or one false accusation.

We are familiar with the process by which peace officers should reasonably be disciplined or removed from their positions. When we see peace officers mistreated, wrongfully fired, suspended or stripped of their duties, then we hope that they reach out to our firm for Orange County peace officer representation to get started on filing a claim.

We do our best to investigate fully the reasons why you have decided to file your claim so we can prepare a strong case for you. We fight tirelessly and fiercely to protect your rights as we would the rights of our own family. We hope that you call our office right away to set up your first consultation to get started on getting the representation that you deserve.

Know Your Peace Officer Bill of Rights in California 

Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act–

CA Government Code Section 3303 states:

When any public safety officer is under investigation and subjected to interrogation by his or her commanding officer, or any other member of the employing public safety department, that could lead to punitive action, the interrogation shall be conducted under the following conditions. For the purpose of this chapter, punitive action means any action that may lead to dismissal, demotion, suspension, reduction in salary, written reprimand, or transfer for purposes of punishment.

(a) The interrogation shall be conducted at a reasonable hour, preferably at a time when the public safety officer is on duty, or during the normal waking hours for the public safety officer, unless the seriousness of the investigation requires otherwise. If the interrogation does occur during off-duty time of the public safety officer being interrogated, the public safety officer shall be compensated for any off-duty time in accordance with regular department procedures, and the public safety officer shall not be released from employment for any work missed.

(b) The public safety officer under investigation shall be informed prior to the interrogation of the rank, name, and command of the officer in charge of the interrogation, the interrogating officers, and all other persons to be present during the interrogation. All questions directed to the public safety officer under interrogation shall be asked by and through no more than two interrogators at one time.

(c) The public safety officer under investigation shall be informed of the nature of the investigation prior to any interrogation.

(d) The interrogating session shall be for a reasonable period taking into consideration gravity and complexity of the issue being investigated. The person under interrogation shall be allowed to attend to his or her own personal physical necessities.

(e) The public safety officer under interrogation shall not be subjected to offensive language or threatened with punitive action, except that an officer refusing to respond to questions or submit to interrogations shall be informed that failure to answer questions directly related to the investigation or interrogation may result in punitive action. No promise of reward shall be made as an inducement to answering any question. The employer shall not cause the public safety officer under interrogation to be subjected to visits by the press or news media without his or her express consent nor shall his or her home address or photograph be given to the press or news media without his or her express consent.

(f) No statement made during interrogation by a public safety officer under duress, coercion, or threat of punitive action shall be admissible in any subsequent civil proceeding. This subdivision is subject to the following qualifications:

(1) This subdivision shall not limit the use of statements made by a public safety officer when the employing public safety department is seeking civil sanctions against any public safety officer, including disciplinary action brought under Section 19572.

(2) This subdivision shall not prevent the admissibility of statements made by the public safety officer under interrogation in any civil action, including administrative actions, brought by that public safety officer, or that officer’s exclusive representative, arising out of a disciplinary action.

(3) This subdivision shall not prevent statements made by a public safety officer under interrogation from being used to impeach the testimony of that officer after an in camera review to determine whether the statements serve to impeach the testimony of the officer.

(4) This subdivision shall not otherwise prevent the admissibility of statements made by a public safety officer under interrogation if that officer subsequently is deceased.

(g) The complete interrogation of a public safety officer may be recorded. If a tape recording is made of the interrogation, the public safety officer shall have access to the tape if any further proceedings are contemplated or prior to any further interrogation at a subsequent time. The public safety officer shall be entitled to a transcribed copy of any notes made by a stenographer or to any reports or complaints made by investigators or other persons, except those which are deemed by the investigating agency to be confidential. No notes or reports that are deemed to be confidential may be entered in the officer’s personnel file. The public safety officer being interrogated shall have the right to bring his or her own recording device and record any and all aspects of the interrogation.

(h) If prior to or during the interrogation of a public safety officer it is deemed that he or she may be charged with a criminal offense, he or she shall be immediately informed of his or her constitutional rights.

(i) Upon the filing of a formal written statement of charges, or whenever an interrogation focuses on matters that are likely to result in punitive action against any public safety officer, that officer, at his or her request, shall have the right to be represented by a representative of his or her choice who may be present at all times during the interrogation. The representative shall not be a person subject to the same investigation. The representative shall not be required to disclose, nor be subject to any punitive action for refusing to disclose, any information received from the officer under investigation for noncriminal matters.

This section shall not apply to any interrogation of a public safety officer in the normal course of duty, counseling, instruction, or informal verbal admonishment by, or other routine or unplanned contact with, a supervisor or any other public safety officer, nor shall this section apply to an investigation concerned solely and directly with alleged criminal activities.

(j) No public safety officer shall be loaned or temporarily reassigned to a location or duty assignment if a sworn member of his or her department would not normally be sent to that location or would not normally be given that duty assignment under similar circumstances.

Recent Blogs

Call Today for Orange County Peace Officer Representation

If you are a peace officer facing issues involving administrative investigations, disciplinary matters, use of force incidents, or a shooting, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us as soon as possible. We want to help protect your rights. Reach out to us before you do any type of interview. We are ready to take your call.