$6.2M
Police excessive force; $4.91M verdict plus fees, costs and interest
An officer punched our client unconscious during a traffic stop. The final judgment includes the jury’s award, attorney fees, costs and interest.
Ann Arbor Police Brutality Lawyer
Ann Arbor office · Serving Washtenaw County
Hurt by police force? Get help preserving video, documenting injuries, and understanding whether you may have a civil claim. Start with a free review of what happened in Ann Arbor.
- $300M+ Recovered for Michigan clients
- 400+ 5-star ratings across review platforms
- Free Case review with no obligation
Start here
What should I do next?
Start with what you know: when and where it happened, how you were affected, and any reports or messages you have. You do not need a complete file before contacting us. We can explain what else may matter, which records to look for, and whether we can help.
A closer lookHow we review your police brutality case
Call about an Ann Arbor matter when police or another government actor used force and the complete encounter, threat, resistance, restraint, custody stage, injury, video, or official account is disputed. The first Ann Arbor review identifies the person’s status and stage of the encounter, each force act and actor, objective circumstances, recordings, device and medical proof, criminal-case overlap, individual defenses, entity evidence, causation, and damages. The Michigan police brutality guide explains the statewide law and how it may apply to your situation.
Bodycam, dashcam, jail or facility video, dispatch, CAD, force reports, Taser and other device logs, photographs, medical records, private cameras, phone files, and witness memory can follow different retention paths.
Read the legal detailsIt costs nothing to learn where you stand. Call (734) 882-2646 or start a free case review.
Michigan Legal Center
Our results
The cases. The work.
The difference it made.
Appeal win
Unlawful-seizure and force claims preserved for further proceedings
The Sixth Circuit preserved three federal claims involving a mental-health seizure and use of force. The case still required further proceedings.
Case result
Officers broke a surgically repaired wrist during handcuffing
Our client warned officers about her wrist surgery before they handcuffed her. Medical records and witness statements supported her excessive-force case.
Appeal win
False-arrest and municipal-liability claims revived in the Sixth Circuit
The appellate ruling allowed Ehsan Ouza’s claims to move forward, including a claim that the city failed to train or supervise its officers.
Evidence to preserve
What evidence should I keep?
Police and road agencies, platforms, drivers, passengers, vehicle owners, private camera holders, transit or parking systems, insurers, and medical providers may each hold a different part of the record.
Ann Arbor government and dispatch record
Ann Arbor Police, Washtenaw County Sheriff, University of Michigan DPSS, another municipality, transit or school officials, dispatch, jail staff, and contractors may each control a non-duplicative part of an encounter. Preserve the complete reports, recordings, CAD and radio traffic, warrants, booking, transport, complaint, policy and metadata held by the actors actually involved.
Washtenaw County medical and custody chronology
Michigan Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, EMS, custody providers, behavioral-health clinicians, rehabilitation teams, and the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner can create distinct records with different evidentiary limits. Match EMS, facility, custody, forensic, treatment, photographs, symptoms, restrictions, work and future-care proof to the event timeline without treating one note or diagnosis as conclusive.
Independent and private evidence
Campus buildings, downtown properties, parking systems, TheRide vehicles, apartments, hospitals, residences, bicycles, cars, phones, employers and witnesses may hold recordings or chronology evidence. Document possible holders and preservation dates early; not every camera recorded, retained, or lawfully discloses the event.
Local evidence and records map
Who may hold the records?
Ann Arbor public-record requests can reach city material, while U-M, Washtenaw County, a prosecutor, a court, a campus building, a business, or a medical provider must be approached through its own preservation and access process. Records requests, preservation notices, discovery, authorizations, subpoenas, and litigation holds are different tools. None guarantees a record exists or can be produced.
Possible Ann Arbor police brutality evidence holders
| Evidence | Possible holder | Why it may matter |
|---|---|---|
| Ann Arbor agency recordings and event files | Ann Arbor Police, Washtenaw County Sheriff, University of Michigan DPSS, another municipality, transit or school officials, dispatch, jail staff, and contractors may each control a non-duplicative part of an encounter. | Body, dash, facility or vehicle video, 911, CAD, radio, reports, force or arrest records, warrants, property, transport, complaint and policy material should be placed on one verified timeline. |
| Court, prosecutor, booking and detention sequence | The 15th District Court, Washtenaw County Trial and Probate Courts, and the Eastern District of Michigan depend on defendant, event, claim and jurisdiction facts—not the State Street office address. | Complaints, affidavits, warrants, charging papers, dockets, transcripts, orders, booking, transfer and release records can answer different probable-cause, process, custody, damages and claim-overlap questions. |
| Medical, EMS, forensic and functional proof | Michigan Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, EMS, custody providers, behavioral-health clinicians, rehabilitation teams, and the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner can create distinct records with different evidentiary limits. | Clinical records can document timing, symptoms, diagnosis, causation, restraint or custody effects and future care, but they do not by themselves decide whether conduct was unconstitutional. |
| Independent video, devices, witnesses and property | Campus buildings, downtown properties, parking systems, TheRide vehicles, apartments, hospitals, residences, bicycles, cars, phones, employers and witnesses may hold recordings or chronology evidence. | Independent sources can test camera angles, movement, warnings, threat, resistance, identification, timing and the official account; the existence and availability of any recording must be verified. |
| Policy, training, supervision, contractor and entity proof | The verified municipality, county, state entity, public institution, contractor, insurer, vendor, decisionmaker, auditor, records custodian, or other organization connected to the supported theory. | Entity and supervisory theories use evidence beyond employment or one incident and require the qualifying policy, custom, decision, omission, personal involvement and causation required by current law. |
Why location matters
What matters in Ann Arbor?
The exact scene helps identify where to look for reports, video, witnesses, and other records.
Understanding the local recordLocal evidence and investigation details
An Ann Arbor force investigation should identify the person’s status, every involved agency, campus or private video, radio traffic, restraints or devices, medical chronology and any mental-health seizure context. Ann Arbor public-record requests can reach city material, while U-M, Washtenaw County, a prosecutor, a court, a campus building, a business, or a medical provider must be approached through its own preservation and access process.
Records requests, preservation notices, discovery, authorizations, subpoenas, and litigation holds are different tools. None guarantees a record exists or can be produced.
Ann Arbor public actors are not interchangeable
Ann Arbor Police, Washtenaw County Sheriff, University of Michigan DPSS, another municipality, transit or school officials, dispatch, jail staff, and contractors may each control a non-duplicative part of an encounter. The force standard and intervention question depend on custody status, event phase, and each actor’s opportunity.
Court, care and custody use separate records
The 15th District Court, Washtenaw County Trial and Probate Courts, and the Eastern District of Michigan depend on defendant, event, claim and jurisdiction facts—not the State Street office address. Michigan Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, EMS, custody providers, behavioral-health clinicians, rehabilitation teams, and the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner can create distinct records with different evidentiary limits. Each docket, medical record, report, administrative outcome, and forensic finding has a limited purpose.
Independent Ann Arbor proof may be temporary
Campus buildings, downtown properties, parking systems, TheRide vehicles, apartments, hospitals, residences, bicycles, cars, phones, employers and witnesses may hold recordings or chronology evidence. Record the exact location, time, custodian, and device before evidence is overwritten or altered.
Choose the right path
Ann Arbor rights and accountability help
Force, arrest, broad constitutional harm, and a fatal event can overlap, but they do not use the same proof or legal framework. Start with the page that matches the decision you need to make.
Ann Arbor Civil Rights Start here for the broad government-accountability question, constitutional-right routing, public actors, entity liability, searches, retaliation, and overlap among narrower claims. Ann Arbor Police Brutality Current page Use this path when excessive or deadly force, restraints, Tasers, chemical agents, police dogs, strikes, intervention, video, or force-specific medical proof is central. Ann Arbor Wrongful Arrest Use this path for probable cause, warrants, mistaken identity, database errors, booking, detention duration, criminal-case overlap, and arrest-specific records. Ann Arbor Wrongful Death Use this path after a fatal event for estate authority, probate, eligible family interests, the underlying liability theory, medical-examiner evidence, and family-loss proof.
Read the statewide Police Brutality overview Compare the broader Michigan Police Misconduct path
Claims and benefits
Which claims or benefits may apply?
These are possible legal paths, not automatic claims. The answer depends on the event, defendant, policy, injuries, forum, and current law.
Ann Arbor individual conduct
Review the complete force sequence, severity, threat, resistance or flight, proportionality, each actor’s conduct, body/dash/private video, device logs, scene proof, medical causation and policy evidence. Personal involvement, knowledge, opportunity, causation, immunity and legally recoverable harm must be matched to each person rather than the agency name alone.
Public entity, supervisor or contractor
Potential parties include officers, actors with a realistic opportunity to intervene, supervisors, municipalities or counties, custody entities, contractors and medical providers only as the evidence and legal elements support. Employment, supervision, contracting, a policy issue or an objectionable outcome does not by itself establish liability.
Other civil, criminal, estate and benefit paths
Washtenaw probate and medical-examiner records can be essential after a death while still leaving the underlying public-actor, medical, vehicle, premises or other liability theory to be proved. State-law claims, criminal proceedings, insurance or benefits, estate authority, immunity, notice, forum and timing require separate analysis and may involve different parties.
30-second case check
Do I have an Ann Arbor police brutality case?
Answer five short questions to organize the timing, harm, possible claims, evidence risk, and current status. There is no sign-up and no dollar estimate. Your answers are included only if you submit the free case review below. The result is general information, not legal advice.
Question 1 of 5
Michigan law
The law and deadlines
The rules below explain how a claim may work. The deadlines, available insurance and responsibility for an injury still depend on the facts of your case.
The full breakdownLegal rules that may apply
Arrest-related force uses the totality of the circumstances
Graham directs courts to evaluate many seizure-related force claims from the perspective of a reasonable officer at the time, including severity, threat, resistance or flight. Barnes rejects a moment-of-threat-only restriction and confirms that the totality of the circumstances matters.
Deadly force and custody stage need precision
Garner addresses deadly force during seizure, Kingsley addresses pretrial-detainee force, and Hudson addresses force against convicted prisoners. The person’s status and exact phase cannot be assumed.
Section 1983 and Monell remain separate
Section 1983 is the civil vehicle for a proven federal-right violation. A municipality is not vicariously liable for an employee; its own qualifying policy, custom, decision or omission must cause the violation.
Case work
How we help with your case
From the first conversation onwardHow we gather evidence and build your case
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Define the Ann Arbor event and legal stage
Identify the person’s status and exact phase of the encounter because force during a stop or arrest, pretrial detention, and imprisonment can use different constitutional standards. Record every location, actor, agency, command, movement, restraint, search, arrest, custody transfer, court event, medical contact and later communication.
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Preserve proof by actual holder
Ann Arbor public-record requests can reach city material, while U-M, Washtenaw County, a prosecutor, a court, a campus building, a business, or a medical provider must be approached through its own preservation and access process. Records requests, preservation notices, discovery, authorizations, subpoenas, and litigation holds are different tools. None guarantees a record exists or can be produced. Campus buildings, downtown properties, parking systems, TheRide vehicles, apartments, hospitals, residences, bicycles, cars, phones, employers and witnesses may hold recordings or chronology evidence.
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Separate actor, entity and overlapping paths
Identify potential parties: officers, actors with a realistic opportunity to intervene, supervisors, municipalities or counties, custody entities, contractors and medical providers only as the evidence and legal elements support. Coordinate criminal counsel, court files, state-law issues, estate or benefit questions without assuming one proceeding controls the others.
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Prove causation and recoverable harm
Michigan Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, EMS, custody providers, behavioral-health clinicians, rehabilitation teams, and the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner can create distinct records with different evidentiary limits. Connect the supported conduct to physical, liberty, economic, emotional, family or estate harm under the rules that govern the actual claim.
Client reviews
What our clients say
In their own words. Read what clients and families say about working with our team.
★★★★★
We have not gone to trial yet, but for the past 2 years I wouldn't choose anyone else to stand behind me and my child. If you want injury lawyers and team members who actually care, CHOOSE Christopher Trainor.
★★★★★
Dealing with insurance companies and medical billing is always a pain in the but and didn’t want anyone taking advantage of me and my situation. This team is number 1 in my book.
★★★★★
I recently had the pleasure of working with Chris Trainor, Amy DeRouin and their dedicated team regarding two personal claims. I cannot recommend them highly enough! From our very first consultation, it was clear that I was in capable and caring hands. I would trust them with any personal legal matter.
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- Contingency-fee cases. No attorney fee unless there is a recovery; the written agreement controls fees and case expenses.
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Local office
The Ann Arbor office
Serving Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea, Plymouth, Canton, Monroe, Milan, and Dexter.
- Address
- 2723 S State St UNIT 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
- Hours
- 24/7 phone intake · Call before visiting
- Phone
- (734) 882-2646
Call before visiting so the team can confirm the right meeting location and time.
Common Questions
Ann Arbor Police Brutality Lawyer FAQs
Which records matter first in an Ann Arbor police brutality review?
Start with actor and agency identities, report and event numbers, body or dash video, 911/CAD/radio, warrants or court papers, booking or release records, photographs, medical records, witness details, phone material and possible private cameras. Ann Arbor public-record requests can reach city material, while U-M, Washtenaw County, a prosecutor, a court, a campus building, a business, or a medical provider must be approached through its own preservation and access process.
Does a complaint or FOIA request preserve Ann Arbor evidence?
Not automatically. Ann Arbor public-record requests can reach city material, while U-M, Washtenaw County, a prosecutor, a court, a campus building, a business, or a medical provider must be approached through its own preservation and access process. Records requests, preservation notices, discovery, authorizations, subpoenas, and litigation holds are different tools. None guarantees a record exists or can be produced. A complaint also uses different standards from a civil lawsuit and does not decide constitutional or state-law liability.
Which court handles an Ann Arbor police brutality case?
The 15th District Court, Washtenaw County Trial and Probate Courts, and the Eastern District of Michigan depend on defendant, event, claim and jurisdiction facts—not the State Street office address. The right court depends on the event, defendants, residence, relief, claim, jurisdiction and venue; the firm office address does not decide it.
What does not automatically prove police brutality in Ann Arbor?
An injury, takedown, Taser discharge, dog bite, strike, restraint, neck contact, shooting, missing recording, charge dismissal, or policy violation does not automatically prove excessive force. One force event does not automatically establish a department-wide pattern, failure to train, supervisory liability, municipal liability, or a legally responsible agency.
Do I need an Ann Arbor police brutality lawyer?
An Ann Arbor legal review is worthwhile when police or another government actor used force and the complete encounter, threat, resistance, restraint, custody stage, injury, video, or official account is disputed. If the Ann Arbor matter is minor, undisputed, and fully resolved, a lawyer may not change the outcome. The consultation with the Ann Arbor office is free, so the useful question is whether legal help protects evidence, coverage, rights, or recovery in your facts.
What local evidence matters in an Ann Arbor police brutality case?
Bodycam, dashcam, jail or facility video, dispatch, CAD, force reports, Taser and other device logs, photographs, medical records, private cameras, phone files, and witness memory can follow different retention paths. The evidence list for this Ann Arbor claim depends on the facts; no camera, report, database, or expert is automatically available or decisive.
How long do I have to bring an Ann Arbor police brutality claim?
Do not calculate a civil-rights deadline from a general website rule. Federal accrual, Michigan limitation periods, criminal-case overlap, state-law notice, immunity, forum, administrative requirements, and the identity of the defendant can change the analysis. Preserve records and get a claim-specific review promptly.
Do medical records from local hospitals matter?
Yes. Records from University of Michigan Health, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, and regional rehabilitation providers and follow-up providers can document diagnosis, causation, treatment, function, prognosis, and damages in an Ann Arbor claim. The Ann Arbor legal team should obtain the complete relevant chain and not rely only on an insurer’s summary.
Do I have to visit the Ann Arbor office?
No. The Ann Arbor office offers phone and video consultations, and in-person meetings can be arranged when appropriate. Call (734) 882-2646 before visiting 2723 S State St UNIT 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Meeting arrangements for Washtenaw County can be adapted when injury, disability, distance, weather, or custody makes travel difficult.
How are fees handled for an Ann Arbor police brutality case?
The Ann Arbor consultation is free. If the firm accepts the matter on a contingency fee, the attorney fee and responsibility for case expenses are governed by the written engagement agreement. Past results in another Michigan matter do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Our Team Approach
Every case at Christopher Trainor & Associates is a team effort. Our attorneys collaborate on strategy, discovery, and litigation so you get the full strength of the firm behind you—not just a single lawyer. We have built our practice on this collaborative model since 1989.
Meet Our AttorneysRelated resources
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In-depth guide Police Brutality And Excessive Force Force standards, evidence, qualified immunity, Monell, and preservation. Read guide In-depth guide Police Misconduct Complaints Complaint, preservation, FOIA, internal investigation, and civil-case distinctions. Read guide In-depth guide Denied Medical Care In Jail Custody medical standards and record-holder mapping. Read guide