New Mexico police must follow stringent protocol when responding to a call. Most times, they do not know what they might be walking into, so, understandably, they proceed with caution and readiness to act. However, there is no excuse for police abuse, which is what one woman claims occurred when officers entered her home while she was arguing with her boyfriend. The situation has prompted a federal lawsuit.
Police claim they were dispatched after a 911 phone call from a man who stated that their assistance was needed at the residence, then hung up. The responding officers said no one would answer the door when they arrived, and they could hear a verbal disturbance within the home, so they entered through an open garage door. The woman asserts that the officers had no right to barge into her home, nor was there any reason to handcuff her and push her to the ground, which reportedly occurred shortly after the officers entered her bedroom.
Was her fractured elbow caused by police abuse?
The plaintiff alleges in her lawsuit that she told the police to leave her home, but they refused. The boyfriend with whom she had been arguing left the house, which is when police allegedly handcuffed the woman and pushed her to the ground, which her attorney says, caused a fractured elbow. The woman’s attorney argued in court that the officers used unnecessary, excessive force, and assaulted his client.
Police abuse cases are often complex, and emotions run high on both sides. It is not the first time officers in New Mexico have been accused of excessive use of force and civil rights violations. As the woman did in this case, it is wise to seek immediate legal support before filing a federal lawsuit, especially when it involves evidence against law enforcement officers.