The United States and New York constitution guarantee citizens certain freedoms. These freedoms include freedom of association, speech, from false arrest and deliberate indifference to a medical condition. When you face an arrest in New York, you still have rights. When a police officer violates these rights, then you deserve to hold the officer accountable. The following will provide you with information on what deliberate indifference is.
The United States Department of Justice explains that officers cannot act with indifference towards a person’s health. When you are in the custody of the police, you may not have the ability to care for your own medical condition. For instance, if you have a serious illness and require medication, the police cannot deny you medication. Likewise, if you suffered a serious injury, the police cannot ignore it.
Deliberate indifference involves the person in custody facing substantial risk. The officer must know there is a risk and refuse to act. For instance, say that you are in custody and another inmate assaults you in front of an officer but the officer fails to act. He or she is in violation of your rights.
If you face discrimination from one officer, any witnesses could also face a civil rights violation. If an officer violates your rights in front of another police officer, then the other police officer has a duty to intervene. He or she must stop deliberate indifference, excessive force and other civil rights intervention. If he or she sees a violation and refuses to stop it, then this is failure to intervene.
