A $25,000 Settlement in a Bronx False Arrest Case November 30, 2011

Posted by Carol L. Schlitt in False Arrest, Police Misconduct.
Tags: cases against new york city, false arrest, New York Personal Injury Lawyer, police misconduct
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This past April, on the Saturday before Easter, a manager at a health care firm left his office for the drive home. He had recently purchased a Jaguar sedan and he drove that car to work that day. On the way home, New York City police officers pulled him over and arrested the Bronx man for possession of a stolen car. Although the man presented his license, the registration for the car, the title to the car and a receipt for the bill of sale, the officers still arrested him.

The police detained him at the local precinct and then at Bronx Central Booking before releasing him in the early hours of Monday morning after the man had been held for more than 36 hours. The police ultimately dropped the charges and the man retained me to represent him. He wanted the New York City Police to be held accountable for their reckless actions and compensation for missing the Easter holiday with his family. After filing a Notice of Claim with the City and thoroughly investigating the case, I presented a settlement proposal to the City and we settled the case last week for $25,000.

The Facts of this Bronx Wrongful Arrest Case 

The facts of this case are startling because they are so outrageous. My client drove his car along 175th Street and made a left onto Jerome Avenue, obeying all traffic rules.  As he made the turn, the man observed a black van driving behind him. The black van turned on some emergency lights and the man pulled to the side of the road.

Three men got out of the van dressed in plain clothes, but they held out police badges indicating that they were New York City police officers. Two officers approached the car from the passenger side and one from the driver’s side of the car. The officer on the driver’s side of the car instructed the man to remain in the car and to roll down his window. My client did as he was told.

As instructed, the man provided the police with his license and registration as well as his insurance card and a copy of the bill of sale for the car. The man asked why he was pulled over and one of the police officers said it was a random check. The police made this claim despite the fact that there was no roadblock and no other cars were stopped.

The three police officers retreated to their van and a second police car pulled up to the scene. Another three officers stepped out of that car. The police left my client sitting in his car for approximately five minutes. A sergeant, who had arrived in the second car, approached my client and began asking questions about the ownership of the vehicle, the purchase price and other questions relating to the purchase of the car. All this despite the fact that my client had a valid registration and had provided a copy of the bill of sale for the car. A professional manager, well-respected in his field, the man could not help but think that the police pulled him over for simply because he was Hispanic and was driving an expensive car, a Jaguar.

The police made the man wait another five minutes. The sergeant appeared again and asked the same questions about ownership. He had the man’s insurance card and compared the VIN on the insurance card to the VIN on the vehicle; they matched.

The police then asked the man to turn off his engine and step out of his car. At that point, they arrested him and placed the man in tightly bound handcuffs behind his back. My client asked why he was being arrested and the police would not tell him.

The police took the man to the local police precinct and placed him in a holding cell. He arrived at the precinct around 2:30 in the afternoon and remained in the holding cell until approximately 1 a.m. At that time, the police took him to the Central Booking unit in the Bronx where he again waited in a holding cell for many hours.

The man finally appeared before a judge just before 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.  Only then did he learn that the sole charge lodged against him was possession of a falsified registration. The judge released him on $500 bail. His wife brought the bail so that the man left the Central Booking Unit at approximately 3 a.m. on Monday morning. During his detention, my client missed his Easter eve and Easter day celebration with his family. He spent a total of 37.5 hours in detention.

Several days later, the man appeared for a hearing and all charges were dismissed. He received a Certification of Disposition that states “the arrest and prosecution shall be deemed a nullity and the accused shall be restored, in contemplation of law, to the status occupied before the arrest and prosecution.”

Basis for Proving the False Arrest Case in New York

We built our false arrest case on three essential issues:

• The police had no legal basis to pull over the man
• The police had no legal basis to arrest the man
• The police had no legal basis to detain the man

The man had not committed any traffic violation prior to being pulled over and the police at no time alleged that he had committed a traffic violation. The police told my client that they pulled him over as part of a random traffic stop, yet there was no traffic stop in the area and no evidence of systematic traffic stops. Instead, the police illegally singled out the man without a legal basis.

Once they pulled over the man, the police officers had ample opportunity to inspect all of his documents. He presented the following:

• His license
• The registration for the car, which was in his name
• The insurance card for the car and the insurance was in his name
• The bill of sale for the car

In addition, the police verified that the VIN of the car matched the VIN on the paperwork the man presented. The police also gave no suggestion or evidence that the car had been reported as stolen. Given the field investigation, the police had no evidence and no reason to arrest or charge the man.

The police violated procedure by arresting the man without telling him why they were arresting him. Once at the police precinct, the police refused to tell him why they had arrested him and they refused to review the documents that he presented, which would exonerate him. The arresting officers did not take any steps to verify the information that the man presented, they merely processed the arrest and put him into a cell with other arrested persons.

Despite the lack of any police investigation whatsoever, the police kept the man in the holding cell for nearly twelve hours. They then transferred him to Central Booking in the Bronx as a prelude for being transferred to Riker’s Island.  During the transfer, the man was handcuffed to other prisoners and treated as if he was a criminal.

The man was finally released on bail after 37.5 hours. At the subsequent hearing on April 29, the prosecutor dropped all charges and issued a Certification of Disposition that states “the arrest and prosecution shall be deemed a nullity and the accused shall be restored, in contemplation of law, to the status occupied before the arrest and prosecution.”

Given the extensive evidence and the obvious errors made by the police, the City of New York agreed to enter into settlement talks. The City initially offered to settle the case for $10,000, but the extent of the police error, the thoroughness of the case we built and my legal research on payments made in similar cases led to the ultimate settlement.

Grounds for a False Arrest or Wrongful Detention Case

Despite the facts of this case and the many other false arrest cases that I have handled, I believe the New York City Police generally do a good job of protecting citizens’ rights and minimizing the number of false arrests. That said, some police do violate citizens’ rights; false arrests do occur; the police do wrongfully detain people. In those cases, the police need to be held accountable and the victims deserve compensation for their losses.

Arresting a person and later dropping charges does not automatically constitute a false arrest. The police may have valid cause to make an arrest that does not lead to a trial or conviction. A false arrest occurs when the police fail to follow police procedure and had they done so, an arrest would have been unnecessary. A false arrest occurs when the police lack sufficient grounds for an arrest and arrest a person anyway. All false arrests result in all charges being dropped and an unequivocal dismissal of charges.

If you have been arrested and you believe it was wrongful and the charges were dropped because the police dropped the case or the District Attorney said there was no basis of a charge or an arrest, you may have the grounds for a false arrest case. Your case must have been dismissed without reservation.

If you or a loved one has been arrested and the charges have been dropped or dismissed, you may have grounds to pursue a claim for false arrest. You may want to consult a New York personal injury attorney experienced with false arrest cases. I would be glad to answer your questions and assist you. You can call me at 1-800-660-1466 or email me. You can also visit my website or read more on my blog, New York Law Thoughts.

Carol L. Schlitt
New York Personal Injury Attorney
www.SchlittLaw.com
1-800-660-1466
Carol@SchlittLaw.com

This material is intended for informational uses only. It is not meant as legal advice. To receive legal advice, you should consult an attorney. Remember, past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in the future.

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