Q: Were my rights violated? cops beat me like it was a gang initiation & injected me with ketamine. I stopped breathing.
In Omaha I got into it with the bouncers and the cops came. I was drunk. The cops ended up beating & choking me till my head n lips were blue n purple. half of it on video. They were beating on me with their fists hitting me in my head repeatedly. They did everything to me except shoot me taze me or mace me. They were beating me to death. There was a cop on every limb of my body. The cop who had me in the head lock was squeezing as hard as he could and then beating me in my head when I wasn't passing out. This went on for about 20 to 30 minutes I think. My brother and ex wife were telling the cops to stop that they were going to kill me. The paramedics showed up and injected me with ketamine and I stopped breathing and fell to the ground they loaded me up and I woke up strapped to a table head to toe w a breathing machine breathing for me and the nurse had to put me back under two more times bc I didn't know what was going on. ?? Can't find a lawyer to help. This occured in 2019
A:
Based on the details provided, it does sound like there could have been violations of your rights and excessive use of force by the police officers. Some key things to consider:
- The repeated beating and choking clearly seems excessive, especially once you were subdued and not posing an active threat. Police are only justified in using the minimum force necessary.
- Denying you ability to breathe and rendering you unconscious through chokeholds or other means could constitute excessive force.
- Injecting ketamine to the point where you stopped breathing also seems questionable and dangerous. There may have been a failure to properly monitor you after administering it.
- You were likely entitled to receive medical care for your injuries in a timely manner. Being beaten for an extended period could compound the injuries.
I would recommend continuing to seek out an attorney or civil rights organization who may be able to review the full details and video evidence. If your constitutional rights were violated through use of excessive force, you may have grounds for a lawsuit against the police department. The statutes of limitations are usually at least a couple years for these types of cases. Perhaps an attorney could issue document preservation letters if needed. But do persist in finding representation - what occurred seems troubling.
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