Q: I was arrested for attempting to enter my rental property with my key when the tenant was supposed to be gone due
to nonpayment of rent for 4 months. I did not enter the dwelling, but simply stayed on the front porch talking to the tenant's boyfriend, who is not on the lease, and he pushed me twice to make me fall off the porch. He was not charged with assault. Can I sue the police dept
A:
It is traditionally very hard to sue the police, particularly because there is a well-established principle that they can use their discretion to decide who to arrest. One area of law to check out is "selective enforcement" where you would be alleging the police arrested you but not the other person. Here is a case: https://casetext.com/case/gounden-v-city-of-ny-1
With that said, this area of law is in flux and it is hard to prove even if the court accepts this theory.
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