If you or someone you love experienced police brutality, the last thing on your mind in the aftermath is paperwork and legal deadlines. That’s completely understandable. But waiting too long to take action can close doors that can’t be reopened, no matter how strong your case might be or how clear the evidence is.
Our friends at Andersen and Linthorst work with clients on civil rights cases regularly, and one of the most important things a police brutality lawyer will tell you early on is that statutes of limitations are real, they vary, and missing them is one of the most common reasons valid claims never make it to court.
What Is a Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is the window of time you have to file a legal claim after an incident occurs. Once that window closes, courts will generally refuse to hear the case regardless of what happened or how serious the harm was to you personally.
In police brutality cases, the clock typically starts running on the date the incident took place. There are some exceptions, but counting on those exceptions is not a strategy worth gambling on.
How Long Do You Actually Have
The honest answer is that it depends on where you are and what type of claim you are filing. Police brutality cases often involve multiple legal theories, and each one can carry different deadlines that apply independently.
A few things that affect your timeline:
- State personal injury statutes of limitations typically range from one to three years depending on the state
- Federal civil rights claims filed under Section 1983 borrow the personal injury statute of limitations from the state where the incident occurred
- Claims against government entities often require a separate notice of claim to be filed within a much shorter window, sometimes as little as 60 to 180 days after the incident
- Cases involving wrongful death may carry different deadlines than those involving injuries alone
That last point about government notice requirements catches a lot of people off guard. You may think you have a year or two to act, when in reality a preliminary notice needed to be filed months ago.
Why Acting Early Matters Beyond Deadlines
Even if you’re well within your legal window, there are strong practical reasons to move quickly. Evidence disappears over time. Body camera footage gets deleted or becomes harder to obtain. Witnesses move, forget important details, or become difficult to locate as months pass.
Building a strong civil rights case takes time and thorough investigation. The earlier an attorney gets involved, the more tools they have to work with.
What to Do Right Now
If you experienced an incident involving law enforcement and you haven’t spoken with an attorney yet, that conversation should happen as soon as possible. You don’t need to have everything figured out before you reach out. An attorney can review what happened, explain which deadlines apply to your specific situation, and help you understand what your options actually look like from here.