Violations of Civil Rights

A police officer may have violated your civil rights if:

•    An Officer Used Unnecessary Force Against You: if an officer used more force than necessary to arrest you, beat you, used a taser that caused an injury, or allowed a jailhouse beating to occur then the officer may be guilty of police brutality and may have violated your civil rights.
•    An Officer Failed to Protect You: If an officer deliberately failed to protect you and did not do his or her job then your civil rights may have been violated.
•    You Were Wrongfully Convicted: if you were convicted of a crime based on information that was fabricated or made up by the police then your civil rights may have been violated.

What to Do if Your Civil Rights Have Been Violated
The Chicago lawyers of Dolan Law Offices believe that the majority of our nation’s police officers are good people who provide much needed protection to the citizens of this country.  We believe that the best way to honor our hard working and ethical officers is to hold unethical officers responsible when they break the law.

If you believe that a police officer has violated your civil rights then it is important to hire an experienced lawyer to help you with your claim.  You

Sergei is a guest blogger and you can learn more about his services at http://www.stopcollector.com

There are few things more daunting than being on the receiving end of a bill collectors’ phone call. Although the law is explicit about what bill collectors can and can’t do during a phone call, the reality is that most debt collectors routinely cross the line into illegal behavior. They seem to believe that, with enough pressure and intimidation, they can get consumers to pay. Unfortunately, this is all too often the case.

If you want to stop bill collectors’ phone calls, there are two ways to go about it. The first is the do-it-yourself route. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says that, if you send a debt collector a cease and desist letter, they can’t contact you again unless they wish to notify you that they are no longer trying to collect the debt or that they are taking legal action.

What’s a cease and desist letter? It’s a letter that you write to the debt collection agency saying that you want them to cease communication with you under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In your letter, tell them specifically that you want them to stop calling you, that you want them to stop sending you letter and email, and that you do not want them to call family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers. In addition, tell them in no uncertain terms that you know you rights, and that if they continue to harass you, you will pursue legal action.

If you write a cease and desist letter, it’s important to keep a copy, as well as to send it certified mail with a return receipt. If they contact you again after receiving your letter, you’ll have proof that they violated the law.

The second course of action is to engage the services of an attorney. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says that, once you have an attorney, a debt collector can no longer contact you directly; all communication must go through your attorney. When they hear this, most people think, If I had the money to hire an attorney, I’d have enough money to pay the debt. What they don’t know is that hiring a fair debt attorney shouldn’t cost you a dime. This is because the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says that debt collectors who violate the law have to pay consumers’ attorney fees. In other words, your fair debt attorney will be paid when the court orders the debt collection agency to do so.

Once the bill collectors’ phone calls have stopped, you’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing your rights under the law – and the specific actions to can take to stop debt collection calls – is an important first step.

At least one senior citizen expressed concern that tasers could cause heart attacks.  Those concerns were quickly quieted by police officers.  One officer is quoted by Seacoastonline.com as saying that “It [the taser] doesn’t have any long lasting effects.”
Evidence and individual experiences with police tasers suggest that not all taser victims are lucky enough to avoid long lasting effects, as the Portsmouth officer claims.  Amnesty International reports that since 2001, 351 people have been killed by police tasers in the United States.  Only a small percentage of these people were armed at the time of the tasering.  Those killed have included all age groups from teenagers to senior citizens.

In 2005, Illinois became the first state to enact legislation requiring stun gun owners to register their weapon in the same manner as a firearm.  In support of the legislation, the Illinois Governor acknowledged that tasers can be lethal.

The Portsmouth police officers would be justified in saying that tasers are less deadly than guns.  However, that does not mean that they are safe or do not have any long lasting effects.  While more research is needed, that is not funded by taser manufacturers, there is evidence to suggest that those who are most vulnerable to taser related injuries and death are those with underlying medical conditions.  A police officer has no way of knowing whether the person whom they shoot with a taser has an underlying medical condition.

If you have been hurt, or a loved one has been killed, by a police taser then you should consult with local civil rights counsel.  The Chicago civil rights lawyers of Dolan Law Officers are committed to protecting the people of Illinois against unnecessary police force and taser injuries.  Your local civil rights lawyers have the same commitment to your case.

A thirty-seven-year-old resident of Nottingham, New Hampshire, was driving a Volvo SUV at the time of the accident. Her vehicle is said to have collided with an oncoming flatbed truck in the early afternoon. Witnesses and local residents have voiced their thoughts regarding the accident claiming that the particular section of the road where it took place is “very dangerous” and many report that this is not the first time someone got seriously harmed while driving on the roadway.  

Truck Collides with SUV 
 
The man that collided with the woman was a forty-eight-year-old from Manchester. He was traveling southbound on Route 125 when his day became suddenly altered. His vehicle hit another truck being driven by a man who was driving the opposite direction. After hitting the first car, the truck collided with the woman.

A local Epping resident told state police that he was at his friend’s business, Twin Pines Driving Range, when he witnessed the car accident. The witness says he saw a truck heading south on Route 125 suddenly veer to the other side of the road, slamming into two other vehicles.

The truck flipped and ended on its side along the southbound lane, while the Volvo flew down an embankment and ended up facedown. The witness says the men in the trucks didn’t appear to be hurt after the personal injury accident, but the woman was trapped in her car. Once rescuers got to the scene of the accident she was taken by helicopter to Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston.

The case dates back to August 2006 when, the Mlodzinskis allege, 3 Bristol Police Officers and 20 members of the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit broke into their apartment at approximately 4 a.m. to arrest a 17 year old suspect and conduct a search.  Officers were allegedly dressed in military gear, complete with masks, and carrying rifles.  Members of the Mlodzinski family claim to have been handcuffed, held together in one room and then separated for interrogation.

NHPR reports that the mayor of Laconia filed a lawsuit against the officers for excessive force – alleging that breaking into the home at 4 a.m. in military gear was extreme to arrest a 17 year old who was known in the community.  The Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit denies that they were in military gear but does not deny many of the circumstances of the arrest.

Part of the public concern about this incident is that the six regional SWAT teams, including the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit, are independent entities.  There are questions about their oversight.

Excessive police force erodes public confidence and trust in police officers and violates individuals’ civil rights.  It is illegal and unacceptable in New Hampshire, in Illinois, and throughout the United States.

If you have been the victim of excessive police force then you should consult with local civil rights attorneys.  Our clients know that the Chicago civil rights lawyers of Dolan Law Offices are trusted advisors and aggressive advocates for victims of excessive police force.  We are watching the Mlodzinski case in New Hampshire and rooting for justice to be served.

A personal injury lawsuit was recently filed against by a passenger who was recently in a car accident. The lawsuit has been filed against the driver of the car who was reportedly driving erratically before he crashed into a local New Hampshire store.

The car crashed into Putnam’s Sky & Snowboard shop earlier this year and the driver has been charged with 10 different crimes. Now, the passenger in his car is taking legal action after reportedly suffering from mental and physical injuries.

Lawsuit Details

Walter Dunfey was a passenger in Mercer Smith’s car when it crashed into the snowboard shop. As a result of the car accident, Dunfey claims he has claims he suffers from personal injuries which have continued to cause him pain and anguish.

Dunfey filed a personal injury lawsuit against Smith and reportedly hopes to recover his loss of wages, since he has been unable to work, for his loss of enjoyment of life. The accident caused injury to Dunfey’s pelvis which has forced him to undergo medical treatments.

The suit also claims that Dunfey was witness to erratic driving and speeding as a passenger in Smith’s car. Although no civil suit has been filed against Smith regarding alcohol being involved at the time, Dunfey, and another passenger in the car are being charged for possessing alcohol since they are underage.

At the time of the personal injury accident Smith was reportedly charged with counts of causing serious bodily injury to the passengers in his car. He was also charged with speeding, running a stop light, and with crashing into the local shop causing damage. 

Extreme Athlete Injured in Tournament

The show, also known as the New Hampshire Grass Drags and Watercrossing competition, took place in Fremont.

According to reports, Tait didn’t complete a back flip and suddenly crashed to the ground. After falling Tait, who has gained a name for himself as one of Canada’s most popular extreme snowmobiling athletes, was hit in the back by his snowmobile.

Reports claim Tait was severely injured in the accident, which may have severed Tait’s spine. The boy’s family is now hoping their loved one will even walk again. Tait is currently awaiting spinal surgery in Boston. Meanwhile, New Hampshire snowmobiling community has joined forces with the snowmobiling community of Canada to do anything they can to help Tait and his family.  

“My heart goes out to Darryl and his family. He’s got a long road ahead of him,” says snowmobile enthusiast Bob Jordan who watched with the many other onlookers as the crash occurred.

Snowmobiling Community Comes Together

Some snowmobilers have already begun planning various ways to raise money. Among the plans they’ve quickly put into action, is an auction being held giving away medals they’ve won in competitions, along with the auctioning off of their snowmobile suits.

Police believe that the victims, Stephen Lagakos, 63 and a professor at Harvard University, his 61-year-old wife Regina, and her 94-year-old mother, Helen, were all instantly killed in the injury accident.

Car Accident Details

Documents claim that the SUV, driven by Lagakos crossed over to the other side of the road and hit Stephen Krause, 56, head on. The family is believed to have been driving to their second home in the town of Rindge, which is just miles from where the accident occurred on Route 202. Krause was also killed in the accident.

Lagakos was a well- respected professor of biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health and both his colleagues and students are still in mourning over the tragic accident. He was intensely involved in the school and his research supposedly involved statistical issues in relation to clinical drug trials and other studies conducted by Harvard and its affiliates. Lagakos was also reportedly an expert in and emphasized in his studies the statistical analysis of HIV and other infectious diseases currently affecting people throughout the world.

“He had the strength in every area of biostatistical research,” states Lagakos’ colleague at Harvard, Robin Herman, in a recently released statement. “He was also a teacher and mentor to so many.”

Early Monday morning, Donald Hughes, 69, was reportedly walking in the crosswalk at the intersection of Dover Transportation Center and Members Way. According to police reports, Hughes was suddenly struck by a pickup truck while he was in the middle of the crosswalk. The pickup truck is said to have been driven by Bruce Jenness, 54, a resident of Rochester.

Rochester’s Toyota Tacoma threw Hughes to the pavement. However, he did not sustain any major trauma to his body or head from the impact of the car. Emergency medical services (EMS) were immediately at the scene of the injury accident and transferred Hughes to the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital to be treated.

During his time at the hospital, Hughes is said to have complained about pain in his right side and in his chest. Dover Police are currently investigating the cause of the accident to see if charges should be filed.

According to what Hughes told police, he had the right of way since the walk sign was flashing as he crossed, which would make Jenness’s right hand turn illegal.