Police Misconduct Attorney Jerry L. Steering has been suing the police since 1984 for police brutality, false arrests, malicious criminal prosecutions 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 Ridgecrest, California, throughout Kern County, and throughout the State of California. Mr. Steering has also sued the government as far away as in federal court in Alabama and in the District of Columbia. 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. It doesn’t matter what the law states, or what the Judge says, or what the jury instructions say, or even what the evidence shows, if a jury of 8 cop-loving jurors is not going to unanimously vote for you in your federal court Police Misconduct Civil Rights case. A right without a real-world remedy (i.e. winning your case) is no right at all; at least for you. As the old saying goes, “The young lawyer knows the law, but the old lawyer knows the Judge” and Mr. Steering’s understanding the technical and practical legal landscape of Police Misconduct Civil Rights cases will dramatically increase your chances of winning your case; of actually enforcing your constitutional rights. THE POLICE IN RIDGECREST ARE OFTEN BRUTAL AND ARE INSTITUTIONALLY DISHONEST. Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, with an estimated population of 28,000 making it the third-largest city in Kern County. Ridgecrest is located along U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. The demographics of Ridgecrest are 68.7% White, 21.1% Hispanic, 4.9% Black, 3.6% Asian and 1.2% Native American / Alaskan Eskimo and 0.3% Pacific Islander. Ridgecrest has its own police department, the headquarters of which is located at 100 West California Avenue, Ridgecrest, California. That agency has had its share of police brutality and officer involved shootings. See, Officer-involved shooting in Ridgecrest determined to be within policy for departments involved, ABC 23, Bakersfield, February 14, 2023; Kern County Deputies and Ridgecrest Police Shoot and Kill Armed Man, Fugitive Watch, February 24, 2023. Although Ridgecrest does not have significant criminal street gang activity (See, Gang Statistics for Ridgecrest, California, Inside Prison), it nonetheless had its share of homicides in that city. See, 4 arrested after shooting, physical assault in Ridgecrest: police, KGET Bakersfield; Ridgecrest shooting spree suspect threatened to ‘wreak havoc’, Los Angeles Times, October 25, 2013; Ridgecrest police investigate shooting, arrests made, KBAK Fox 58 TV, March 18th 2025. The rate of violent crime in Ridgecrest is also higher than that of the average US city. Ridgecrest ranks in the 29th percentile for safety, meaning it is safer than 29% of cities but less safe than 71%. This analysis applies only to Ridgecrest’s official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities. Moreover, the violent crime rate in Ridgecrest is 4.056 per 1,000 residents in the typical year. Ridgecrest residents generally consider the west part of the city to be the safest. Your chance of being a victim of violent crime in Ridgecrest varies by neighborhood – ranging from 1 in 122 in the northeast neighborhoods to 1 in 379 in the west. Most of the time that Ridgecrest Police Department police officers abuse civilians in the context of “Contempt of Cop” situations; situations when civilians verbally protest or verbally challenge police orders or actions. See, The “Contempt of Cop Game”; How Well Can You Play?, steeringlaw. Although it has long been established that civilians have a constitutional right to verbally protest or verbally challenge police orders or actions. As Justice Brennan so eloquently stated in striking down a City of Houston, Texas Municipal Ordinance that criminalized interrupting a police officer in the performance of his/her duties: “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) However, just because Americans have the well-established constitutional right to verbally protest or verbally challenge police orders or actions, that does not mean that exercising those rights will not result in you getting beaten or tased or pepper-sprayed, and falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted for some fabricated and imaginary resistance offense, such as violation of Cal. Penal Code § 69 (resisting officer with force), Cal. Penal Code § 148(a)(1) (resisting/delaying/obstructing a officer), Cal. Penal Code § 240/241 (assault on officer), Cal. Penal Code § 242 / 243(b) & (c) (battery on an officer causing injury) and Cal. Penal Code § 245(c) (assault on officer with weapon). This is not lefty propaganda; this is reality. This what happens to real people in the real world. IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF POLICE MISCONDUCT, JERRY L. STEERING CAN HELP YOU ACTUALLY ENFORCE YOUR RIGHTS BY WINNING YOUR CASE. As the old saying goes, “The young lawyer knows the law, but the old lawyer knows the Judge”. 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. 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. 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. 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 . FREE CASE EVALUATION
