How to complain about the police in the United States

The United States has roughly 18,000 separate law enforcement agencies, each with its own procedure. These are the four routes that exist almost everywhere, in the order they are usually taken.

1. The agency's own internal affairs division

Almost every department investigates complaints about its own officers. Most take complaints in person, by post, and increasingly online. Ask for written confirmation that the complaint has been recorded and a reference number, and keep a copy of everything you send.

Some states require a complaint to be sworn or notarised, and a few make it a criminal offence to file a knowingly false one. That is worth knowing before you sign anything.

2. A civilian review board, where one exists

Many larger cities have a civilian review board, police monitor or inspector general. Their powers vary enormously. Some can investigate independently and subpoena evidence; many can only review what the department did and make recommendations it is free to ignore. Whether one covers you depends entirely on the city.

3. The state attorney general

State attorneys general can investigate patterns of misconduct by a department, and in some states have specific authority over deaths involving police. This is about patterns rather than individual grievances, so it is rarely a route to a personal remedy.

4. The federal Department of Justice

The DOJ Civil Rights Division can open a pattern-or-practice investigation into a department and enter into a consent decree requiring reform. It can also prosecute individual officers for willful violations of constitutional rights, though that is a high bar and prosecutions are rare relative to complaints.

A civil claim is separate from all of this

None of the routes above award compensation. A civil claim for violation of constitutional rights is usually brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Fourth Amendment governs unreasonable searches and seizures and excessive force during an arrest; the Fourteenth is often engaged for what happens afterwards.

Two things make US claims different. Qualified immunity protects officers unless the right violated was "clearly established", which defeats many claims before the facts are examined. And deadlines are set by state law, not federal law, so the time you have depends on where it happened and can be as short as one year. If you think you may have a claim, find out where you stand early rather than late.

Start with your state

Every state has its own page with what is recorded there and how oversight is structured.

See all states

This is general information about how oversight is structured in the United States. It is not legal advice about any individual case, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer admitted in the relevant state.