1. Preserve the evidence now
- Save every video you or anyone else recorded, and collect witnesses' names and phone numbers.
- Photograph injuries over several days and get medical care right away. You have a right to copies of your own medical records.
- Write down what happened, minute by minute, while you still remember it.
- Agencies routinely delete body camera, dash camera, dispatch and jail video under their retention schedules. A lawyer can send a preservation letter demanding that it be kept.
2. Request the records
- Public information requests. Under the Texas Public Information Act (Government Code Chapter 552), you can make a written request to the agency. While a criminal case is pending, agencies often withhold investigation records, but basic information about an arrest must still be released (Government Code 552.108).
- Body camera footage. A request must include the date and approximate time, the specific location, and the name of at least one person known to be in the recording (Code of Criminal Procedure art. 2B.0112). An agency has until the 20th business day after it receives the request to respond or to ask the Attorney General for a ruling (art. 2B.0113).
- If you are charged, your defense lawyer can usually get the full file faster through criminal discovery.
3. Do not miss the deadline
A federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 must generally be filed within two years, because federal courts borrow Texas's personal injury deadline (Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989)). For a false arrest claim, the clock usually starts when you are held under legal process, such as when you are brought before a magistrate, not when the criminal case ends (Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007)). Other claims, like malicious prosecution, can start later. Do not wait for your criminal case to finish before talking to a civil rights lawyer.
4. Understand how your criminal case affects a lawsuit
- If you were convicted, you generally cannot bring a claim that would necessarily imply the conviction is invalid unless the conviction is first reversed, expunged or otherwise set aside (Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994)).
- A guilty plea, even to a minor charge like resisting arrest, can end some civil claims. Coordinate the defense of your criminal case with any civil claim before you accept a plea deal.
- While charges are pending, a federal court may pause the civil case until the criminal case is over.
5. Know what you are up against
- Qualified immunity: individual officers are protected from damages unless they violated a clearly established right. For a false arrest, the question is usually whether officers had probable cause for any offense.
- Cities and counties have no qualified immunity, but they are liable only when their own policy, custom or training failure caused the violation (Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)).
- Texas state law offers little help: the Texas Tort Claims Act does not waive immunity for false imprisonment or other intentional torts, so Section 1983 is usually the main route.
6. Be careful with internal affairs
You can file a complaint with the department. For many officers, it must be in writing and signed (Government Code 614.022). Talk to your lawyer first, because what you write can be used in your criminal case, and a knowingly false report is a crime.
Learn more about Section 1983 lawsuits or read our guide to police stops and arrests.
Sources: 42 U.S.C. 1983; Tex. Gov't Code 552.108, 614.022-.023; Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 2B.0112-.0113; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003, 101.057; Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989); Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007); Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994); Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978). Reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation.