Too often, police officers kill or injure people with impunity. The people who are harmed frequently file lawsuits against the officers who broke the rules. There are usually no other options for holding the police accountable. 

Tim Phillips has substantial experience filing lawsuits against police officers who have used excessive force or falsely arrested people. For example, in a case where his client was shot in the eye with a 40mm round during a George Floyd protest, causing a permanent eye injury, Minneapolis paid $900,000 to settle. In another case, Minneapolis approved a settlement of $645,000 after his client was beaten and Tased with absolutely no justification.

Even in a case where the other side asked the jury to allow only one dollar in damages, Tim recovered $185,000 after winning at trial.

Tim has also filed suit regarding the treatment of people while in jail.

Due to U.S. Supreme Court decisions, lower courts have often thrown out civil rights lawsuits on the grounds that there was no “clearly established” court precedent forbidding the misconduct. For this reason, Tim prepared a qualified immunity outline summarizing prior court decisions. This helps other police misconduct attorneys around the country demonstrate that existing precedent clearly established that certain conduct was unconstitutional.

Tim has also represented people seeking to increase oversight and accountability of police with respect to their misconduct. He has experience filing lawsuits under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act – or MGDPA – when cities do not provide access to public data. For example, he won a public records case against Minneapolis related to complaints about police misconduct, and won access to the public data in Use of Force Reports in a case against Brooklyn Park.