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 West Hollywood, throughout Los Angeles 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. “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 SOUTH PASADENA ARE OFTEN BRUTAL AND ARE INSTITUTIONALLY DISHONEST. South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with an estimated population of 27,000. South Pasadena is 3.42 square miles in area and lies between the city of Pasadena, of which it was once a part, and the metropolis of Los Angeles. The demographics of South Pasadena are White (Non-Hispanic) 37.7%, Asian (Non-Hispanic) 32.2%, Two or More Races (Hispanic) 8.91%, Other (Hispanic) 7.03%, Two or More Races (Non-Hispanic) 5.67% and Hispanic or Latino 20.6%. Unlike other small cities in Los Angeles County, the City of South Pasadena has its own police department, located at 1422 Mission Street, South Pasadena, California. That small police agency has to deal with criminal street gangs on a daily basis. Those South Pasadena criminal street gangs include: The Black criminal street gangs in South Pasadena are Bloods and Crips, such as: Pasadena Raymond Avenue Crips: This street gang is located in Pasadena and is known to have rivalries with the Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods, Altadena Denver Lanes, Project Gangster Bloods, and Squiggly Lane Bloods. Bloods: The history of gangs in Pasadena is marked by the dominance of the Bloods. There are also Hispanic criminal street gangs that the South Pasadena Police Department have to deal with on a daily basis, such as Eastside Pasa, North Side Pasa, Pasadena Latin Kings, South Side Pasa, Varrio Pasadena Rifa and Villa Boys Pasadena. The South Pasadena Police Department has also had its share of lawsuits for misconduct by that agency. See, South Pasadena pays $500,000 to settle civil rights lawsuit from Black Lives Matter protesters, Pasadena Star-News, May 3, 2023; Former South Pasadena Police Officer With ADHD Awarded $4.8 Million in Disability Discrimination Case Against City, KTLA 5 News, October 6, 2017; South Pasadena Shooting: Vanessa Marquez Draws Gun on Officers and was Killed (South Pasadena Police Officer shoots person holding BB gun), South Pasadenan, August 30, 2018. Most of the problems with South Pasadena Police Department police officers involve “Contempt of Cop” situations; situations were civilians verbally protest or verbally challenge police actions or orders. See, The “Contempt of Cop Game”; How Well Can You Play?, steeringlaw.com. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that verbal protest or verbal challenge of police actions or orders is constitutionally protected conduct. As so eloquently stated by Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan in 1987 in striking down a City of Houston, Texas Municipal Ordinance that made it a crime to “interrupt” 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. Brennan, J.” City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 (1987) Moreover, these Contempt of Cop situations arise because almost all of the American public is totally ignorant of what their rights are and law requires of them. For example, many of these situations arise when a police officer is performing a traffic stop on a motorist and tells the motorist and/or his/her passenger to get out of their vehicle. In the real world the police have the right to do this. See, Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106 (1977) (police order to driver to exit vehicle constitutional). The police also has the right to order the passenger of a stopped vehicle to exit the vehicle. See also, Maryland v. Wilson. 519 U.S. 408 (1997) (police order to passenger to exit vehicle constitutional). However, many motorists and their passengers believe that they do not have to exit their vehicle. When they argue with the police officer about exiting or just refuse, the police will use force and violence to get that person out, and will thereafter arrest them. This is the real world. The best thing to do if you are stopped by a South Pasadena police officer, on foot or in your car, just shut your mouth, do what the officer tells you to do, and you probably will be okay. If you don’t comply, be prepare for a trip to the hospital and a trip to court. 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 . FREE CASE EVALUATION
