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 Santa Maria, throughout Santa Barbara 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 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. As the old saying goes, “The young lawyer knows the law, but the old lawyer knows the Judge”. THE POLICE IN SANTA MARIA ARE OFTEN BRUTAL AND ARE INSTITUTIONALLY DISHONEST. Santa Maria is a city with a population of approximately 110,000, that is located in the Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County. It is approximately 65 miles northwest of Santa Barbara and 150 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The City of Santa Maria has its own police department, located at 1111 West Betteravia Road, Santa Maria, California. The Santa Maria Police Department has a long and well-earned reputation of using excessive force on civilians, and for falsely arresting and maliciously prosecuting them. As shown below, the Santa Maria Police Department has been sued for many years now for shooting innocents: Wrongful death lawsuit filed against Santa Maria Police, Santa Maria Sun, March 15, 2017 (man threatened suicide so Santa Maria police gave him his wish). Civil rights violations alleged in lawsuit against Santa Maria, police officers, Santa Maria Times, December 14, 2022 (Santa Maria police wrongfully order man out of home and shoot his with 40mm projectile weapon) Lawsuit Filed Against Santa Maria, Police, Family of Albert Covarrubias, Teen Plaintiff Claims She Was Raped and Threatened by Officer Killed in January, Santa Barbara Independent, August 10, 2012. Santa Maria PD sued in deadly officer-involved shooting case, KEYT News, April 4, 2017. Santa Maria Police Department opens investigation into shooting injuring one man, KSBY News, September 19, 2024 Aside from shootings of civilians by Santa Maria Police Department police officers, most of the instances of police brutality, false arrests and malicious criminal prosecutions by them arise in the context of “Contempt of Cop” situations; situations when law abiding civilians verbally protest or verbally challenge police orders or actions. Although verbal protest of or verbal challenge to police orders or actions has long been held by the U.S. Supreme Court to be constitutionally protected conduct, that does not mean that verbally protesting or verbally challenging Santa Maria Police Department orders or actions will not result in your being beaten or tased or pepper-sprayed, and then falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted for some bogus and fabricated “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 officer causing injury) and Cal. Penal Code § 245(c) (assault on officer with weapon). In fact, verbally protesting or verbally challenging Santa Maria Police Department orders or actions are likely to result in just that. Therefore, if a Santa Maria Police Department officer effects a traffic stop upon you, or otherwise stops you outside of your vehicle, just shut your mouth and do what they tell you to do; that is unless you have some underlying desire to get beaten or tased or pepper-sprayed, and then falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted for some bogus and fabricated “resistance offense”. Thereafter, if by some chance you are not precluded from suing the police because of a bogus criminal conviction of you for some resistance offense, you still have to win in federal court to enforce your federal constitutional rights. If you are convicted of some “resistance offense”, then either under the “Doctrine of Collateral Estoppel” or via the “Heck Doctrine“, you are likely to then be precluded from successfully suing the police officers for violation of your constitutional rights. The only rights that you have in this country are those rights that you can enforce. After all, a right without a practical real-world remedy is no right at all. In the real world, not some fantasy technical world, the only way to enforce your constitutional rights are to have a federal court jury, usually composed of white cop-loving jurors, unanimously vote for you and condemn the police. It doesn’t matter what the law technically states, or what the jury instructions state, or what the judge says or even what the evidence shows, if white cop-loving jurors will not unanimously vote for you and condemn the police. That is reality. That is the world in which we live. That is the world in Santa Maria. IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF POLICE MISCONDUCT, JERRY L. STEERING CAN HELP YOU. 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
