Police Misconduct Attorney Jerry L. Steering has been suing the police since 1984 for police brutality, false arrests, malicious criminal prosecutions, wrongful deaths and First Amendment retaliation cases. Mr. Steering in an Expert and Specialist in suing the police in federal court for constitutional violations in the City of Imperial, throughout Imperial County, and throughout the State of California. Mr. Steering has also sued the government as far away as in federal courts in Alabama and in the District of Columbia.
“THE YOUNG LAWYER KNOWS THE LAW, BUT THE OLD LAWYER KNOWS THE JUDGE”.
Mr. Steering’s many years of experience and acquired knowledge can help you maximize your chances of actually winning your Police Misconduct Civil Rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters. If you cannot win your Civil Rights Police Misconduct Lawsuit then you have no rights, because you have no way to enforce them, and a right without a remedy in the real world does not exist.
THE POLICE IN IMPERIAL ARE OFTEN BRUTAL AND ARE INSTITUTIONALLY DISHONEST.
Imperial is a city in Imperial County, California, 4 miles north of El Centro, California. The population of Imperial is approximately 23,000. It is part of the El Centro metropolitan area. In 2016, Imperial was the fourth fastest-growing city in California.
The demographics of Imperial are Hispanic. 84%, White 10%, Asian 4%, African American 1%, Two or more races 1%, Other race 0%, American Indian or Alaska native 0%.
Imperial, California has its rather large share of criminal street gang activity. See, 48 Defendants Charged in Imperial Valley Takedown of Drug Trafficking Network Linked to Sinaloa Cartel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, November 2024; Imperial County Gang Intelligence Coalition; Imperial County Gang Intelligence Coalition connecting resources; Officials Take Down Alleged Gang-Affiliated Drug Traffickers In Imperial County; Take Drugs And Guns Off The Street, U.S. Department of Justice; Imperial County Hoods?, Reddit; ICE Busts Imperial Valley Brole, North Side Centro, West Side Centro, South Side Centro and Pilgrim Street gangs, Imperial Valley News. The criminal specific street gangs that terrorize the streets of Imperial are Imperial 13 / Imperial 13 Varrio – Reported as a local Sureño-aligned varrio in Imperial, and Imperial Crazy Gang / Locotes.
The City of Imperial has its own police department, located at 424 S Imperial Ave, Imperial, CA 92251. The police in Imperial have been quite active recently. See, Family seeks answers in police shooting of 14-year-old Mikey Jimenez, Tracy Press, Nov 23, 2025 (officers shot and killed Mikey Jimenez, a 14-year-old boy from Brawley, outside a restaurant parking lot in El Centro, firing at least 29 rounds into the vehicle he was driving while attempting to leave the scene).
The Imperial Police Department has also had its own internal problems. See, Police Chief Sued Over Ignored Sexual Assault, Courthouse News Service; Granado v. City of Imperial, United States District Court Southern District of California Case Number 15cv435-LAB (PCL) (Imperial Police Officer retaliated against for complaining of on-duty misconduct by fellow officer); Federal lawsuit against city of Imperial, former police chief moves forward, Imperial Valley Press; Orff v. City of Imperial, United States District Court, Southern District of California (Chief Colon of the Imperial Police Department actively interfered with the investigation and made disparaging comments about Orff’s sexual orientation); Detective’s federal lawsuit settled (settlement reached in a federal lawsuit filed by a Brawley police detective claiming the former Imperial police chief interfered with an investigation of an alleged sexual assault against her), Pressreader.com; FBI arrests Imperial police officer accused of accepting bribes, Imperial Valley Press.
MOST POLICE ABUSE BY IMPERIAL POLICE OFFICERS AGAINS CIVILIANS HAPPEN IN THE CONTEXT OF “CONTEMPT OF COP” SITUATIONS.
In the United States civilians have a constitutional right to verbally challenge or verbally protest police orders and actions.
As Associate United States Supreme Court Justice William Brennan famously held in 1987 in striking down a City of Houston, Texas Municipal Ordinance that criminalized interrupting a police officer in the performance of his duty, Justice Brennan held:
“The Houston ordinance is much more sweeping than the municipal ordinance struck down in Lewis. It is not limited to fighting words nor even to obscene or opprobrious language, but prohibits speech that “in any manner . . . interrupt[s]” an officer. The Constitution does not allow such speech to be made a crime. The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.” City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 (1987).
Notwithstanding Justice Brennan’s famous proclamation in City of Houston v. Hill, today’s police officers consider a civilian’s verbal protest or verbal challenges to their orders or actions at “Contempt of Cop”. See, The “Contempt of Cop Game”; How Well Can You Play?, steeringlaw.com.
When that happens, today’s police officers will often beat or tase or pepper-spray, and falsely arrest and procure the malicious criminal prosecution of persons for fabricated “resistance offenses” such as violation of Cal. Penal Code § 69 (resisting officer with force), Cal. Penal Code § 148(a)(1) (resisting/delaying/obstructing officer), Cal. Penal Code § 240/241 (assault on officer), Cal. Penal Code § 242 / 243(b) & (c) (battery on officer causing injury) and Cal. Penal Code § 245(c) (assault on officer with weapon).
This is reality, like it or not. If you’re reading this article, you probably already know this to be true.
IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF POLICE MISCONDUCT, JERRY L. STEERING CAN HELP YOU ACTUALLY ENFORCE YOUR RIGHTS BY WINNING YOUR CASE.
The only thing that matters when enforcing your rights, is whether you win your case. If you don’t win your case, then you have no rights because you have no way to enforce them.
Just because the police violated your constitutional rights doesn’t mean that you can do anything about it. In order to “do something about it”, to enforce your constitutional rights, it takes a great deal of experience, insights, skill and savvy. You need a unanimous jury of usually 8 jurors to vote in your favor in federal court to win your case. If you mouth-off to the cops or don’t do what the police tell you to do or cuss out the cops, or act like a jerk, one or more of the jurors in your case may not vote for you. That is the reality in which we all live.
Mr. Steering’s many years of experience and knowledge in suing the police can help you maximize your chances of winning your Police Misconduct Civil Rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters.
Jerry L. Steering has been suing police agencies for constitutional violations since 1984. He has the experience, insights, skill and savvy to actually win your police misconduct civil rights case, and winning is the only thing that matters. As the old saying goes, “The young lawyer knows the law, but the old lawyer knows the Judge”.
If you are the victim of police misconduct, Jerry L. Steering can help you. Call Jerry L. Steering, Esq. at (949) 474-1849, or email Mr. Steering at jerry@steeringlaw.com .
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