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| Topic: Officer, you've got the wrong person! | |
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This article is quite adequate to formulate an opinion about it, and the more general topic of police procedure, and any prejudices they may have when making or deciding to make an arrest. She'll win her lawsuit and get paid. |
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/15/colorado.mistaken.identity.arrest/index.html?hpt=Sbin This story just broke this morning, but the actual event happened over two years ago. "(CNN) -- Three police cars pulled into Christina FourHorn's front yard one afternoon just before she was supposed to pick up her daughter at school. The officers had a warrant for her arrest. "What do you mean robbery?" FourHorn remembers asking the officers. Her only brushes with the law had been a few speeding tickets. She was locked up in a Colorado jail. They took her clothes and other belongings and handed her an oversize black-and-white striped uniform. She protested for five days, telling jailers the arrest was a mistake. Finally, her husband borrowed enough money to bail her out. "They wouldn't tell me the details," she said. Later, it became clear that FourHorn was right, that Denver police had arrested the wrong woman. Police were searching for Christin Fourhorn, who lived in Oklahoma. Their names were similar, and Christina FourHorn, a mother with no criminal record living in Sterling, Colorado, had been caught in the mix-up. FourHorn went public about her case more than two years ago, filing a lawsuit that alleged the arrest violated her constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from arrest without probable cause." Click the link and read on for more. This is simply outrageous that this sort of thing is going on in this country. We are becoming a police state, and the cops have all the power. The cops arrest the wrong person, and after a lengthy letigious fight in court, they say "whoops, our bad."??? They can come into your home and snatch you away for whatever reason or for no reason. They find clever ways of getting around warrants, the 4th Ammendment, and Miranda rights. I would guess that citizens are getting pretty damned fed up with sort of wreckless irresponsible and unethical behavior by the police. unfortunately,, cops will make mistakes,, but even MORE unfortunate is so many believe that they don't to the point that they won't LISTEN to any theories but the ones they already decide upon. Oh God, I am so tired of hearing that "Cops will make mistakes." Nonsense! They are trained in criminal justice, and swore an oath to the truth and to protect the general welfare of the community. There is absolutely no excuse for a police officer not upholding the true nature and expectations of excellence in performance and duty to the law. When it comes to the police, I'm sorry, there are absolutely no tolerances for mistakes, too much is at stake when it comes to freedom. And yes, they rush to judgement, or they're doing what their superiors told them to do. The police need to put the law first above all else, not their own emotions or agenda. And you mentioned that the cops won't listen. This is true, except they will try to trick you into saying things that will get additional charges piled against you. Better off to never say anything to them, do not let them into your home, and never go out to talk to them without physical proof of a warrant, and you and your attorney read and understand this warrant. The days of cop-loving are over, and sad to say, they did it to themselves. |
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what evidence did the police have or didn't have before the warrant and arrest? The police make arrests or not, based on what they have. That is why we have a court system. That is where all the evidence both sides have present it. Of course the police and courts make mistakes and innocent people get arrested and put in jail. The guilty are arrested and put in jail as well. No system is perfect, anywhere, and never will be. People are human and mistakes are made. This isn't Judge Dred and the cops only arrest (or write tickets) and the courts pronounce guilt or innocence. I would hate for the cops to be judge, jury and executioner. Now with all of that said....yes the woman should be compensated for it. With the attitude of all cops are evil because of a few bad apples....do you wonder why the cops might have to do what they do sometimes? Yellowrose, it's getting dangerously close to "I am the Law!" Judge Dredd. Surely, you can see that. Prove it in court? Citizens should not have to go through all the hassle, expense, emotional trauma and incarceration just to show the courts how stupid and wrong they were to arrest you in the first place. We do not have to prove our innocence. THEY have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that WE are guilty. Probable cause seems to be a rather convenient loophole around all of this, and it is shameful how the police as an organization carry out their interpretation of the law. And yes, FourHorn, and so many others in the U.S. should be compensated ten-fold for what they had to go through. We simply cannot afford any more of these "mistakes" by the police or the courts any longer. |
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As similar as the names are... this should have been an easy catch. They had to have taken fingerprints. Those wouldn't have matched the suspect, and she should have been set loose then and there. Furthermore, her identification should not have matched the suspect. The initial arrest might have been valid, but any time spent in jail, and not just at the local police station for identification, was a violation of her rights. Sorry to say it, but this doesn't classify as a mistake. This classifies as negligence on the part of the police. A close or same name should in no way cause you to be locked up for 5 days. Just on the information posted here (did not read the attatchement), I have to say I agree that the police would have been justified in taking her in for questioning AND verification of identity; the questioning would be in line of identifying her. After that, fingerprints, DNA, etc would have proved her identity and such, and then she would have been released to go back home, with absolutely nothing on her record, false or not. |
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/15/colorado.mistaken.identity.arrest/index.html?hpt=Sbin This story just broke this morning, but the actual event happened over two years ago. "(CNN) -- Three police cars pulled into Christina FourHorn's front yard one afternoon just before she was supposed to pick up her daughter at school. The officers had a warrant for her arrest. "What do you mean robbery?" FourHorn remembers asking the officers. Her only brushes with the law had been a few speeding tickets. She was locked up in a Colorado jail. They took her clothes and other belongings and handed her an oversize black-and-white striped uniform. She protested for five days, telling jailers the arrest was a mistake. Finally, her husband borrowed enough money to bail her out. "They wouldn't tell me the details," she said. Later, it became clear that FourHorn was right, that Denver police had arrested the wrong woman. Police were searching for Christin Fourhorn, who lived in Oklahoma. Their names were similar, and Christina FourHorn, a mother with no criminal record living in Sterling, Colorado, had been caught in the mix-up. FourHorn went public about her case more than two years ago, filing a lawsuit that alleged the arrest violated her constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from arrest without probable cause." Click the link and read on for more. This is simply outrageous that this sort of thing is going on in this country. We are becoming a police state, and the cops have all the power. The cops arrest the wrong person, and after a lengthy letigious fight in court, they say "whoops, our bad."??? They can come into your home and snatch you away for whatever reason or for no reason. They find clever ways of getting around warrants, the 4th Ammendment, and Miranda rights. I would guess that citizens are getting pretty damned fed up with sort of wreckless irresponsible and unethical behavior by the police. unfortunately,, cops will make mistakes,, but even MORE unfortunate is so many believe that they don't to the point that they won't LISTEN to any theories but the ones they already decide upon. Oh God, I am so tired of hearing that "Cops will make mistakes." Nonsense! They are trained in criminal justice, and swore an oath to the truth and to protect the general welfare of the community. There is absolutely no excuse for a police officer not upholding the true nature and expectations of excellence in performance and duty to the law. When it comes to the police, I'm sorry, there are absolutely no tolerances for mistakes, too much is at stake when it comes to freedom. And yes, they rush to judgement, or they're doing what their superiors told them to do. The police need to put the law first above all else, not their own emotions or agenda. And you mentioned that the cops won't listen. This is true, except they will try to trick you into saying things that will get additional charges piled against you. Better off to never say anything to them, do not let them into your home, and never go out to talk to them without physical proof of a warrant, and you and your attorney read and understand this warrant. The days of cop-loving are over, and sad to say, they did it to themselves. I suggest you watch an old 80's movie entitled robo-cop. Also one entitled Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stalone. both will show you that what you just finished saying is nothing but pure and utter nonsense. NOBODY is perfect, and NOBODY can be held accountable to perfection and nothing else. Mistakes DO happen. What needs to change is the public's attitude of going for the fast buck when a mistake does happen so that those who make a mistake are not afraid to come forward and admit it. |
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My father was called a "Peace Officer"...now they are called "Law Enforcement". Big difference in those 2 titles.
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/15/colorado.mistaken.identity.arrest/index.html?hpt=Sbin This story just broke this morning, but the actual event happened over two years ago. "(CNN) -- Three police cars pulled into Christina FourHorn's front yard one afternoon just before she was supposed to pick up her daughter at school. The officers had a warrant for her arrest. "What do you mean robbery?" FourHorn remembers asking the officers. Her only brushes with the law had been a few speeding tickets. She was locked up in a Colorado jail. They took her clothes and other belongings and handed her an oversize black-and-white striped uniform. She protested for five days, telling jailers the arrest was a mistake. Finally, her husband borrowed enough money to bail her out. "They wouldn't tell me the details," she said. Later, it became clear that FourHorn was right, that Denver police had arrested the wrong woman. Police were searching for Christin Fourhorn, who lived in Oklahoma. Their names were similar, and Christina FourHorn, a mother with no criminal record living in Sterling, Colorado, had been caught in the mix-up. FourHorn went public about her case more than two years ago, filing a lawsuit that alleged the arrest violated her constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from arrest without probable cause." Click the link and read on for more. This is simply outrageous that this sort of thing is going on in this country. We are becoming a police state, and the cops have all the power. The cops arrest the wrong person, and after a lengthy letigious fight in court, they say "whoops, our bad."??? They can come into your home and snatch you away for whatever reason or for no reason. They find clever ways of getting around warrants, the 4th Ammendment, and Miranda rights. I would guess that citizens are getting pretty damned fed up with sort of wreckless irresponsible and unethical behavior by the police. unfortunately,, cops will make mistakes,, but even MORE unfortunate is so many believe that they don't to the point that they won't LISTEN to any theories but the ones they already decide upon. Oh God, I am so tired of hearing that "Cops will make mistakes." Nonsense! They are trained in criminal justice, and swore an oath to the truth and to protect the general welfare of the community. There is absolutely no excuse for a police officer not upholding the true nature and expectations of excellence in performance and duty to the law. When it comes to the police, I'm sorry, there are absolutely no tolerances for mistakes, too much is at stake when it comes to freedom. And yes, they rush to judgement, or they're doing what their superiors told them to do. The police need to put the law first above all else, not their own emotions or agenda. And you mentioned that the cops won't listen. This is true, except they will try to trick you into saying things that will get additional charges piled against you. Better off to never say anything to them, do not let them into your home, and never go out to talk to them without physical proof of a warrant, and you and your attorney read and understand this warrant. The days of cop-loving are over, and sad to say, they did it to themselves. I suggest you watch an old 80's movie entitled robo-cop. Also one entitled Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stalone. both will show you that what you just finished saying is nothing but pure and utter nonsense. NOBODY is perfect, and NOBODY can be held accountable to perfection and nothing else. Mistakes DO happen. What needs to change is the public's attitude of going for the fast buck when a mistake does happen so that those who make a mistake are not afraid to come forward and admit it. If you spent 5 days in jail, had your life turned upside down, and spent a fortune in legal fees, would you REALLY be so forgiving to the police? You wouldn't. So try to understand. There is no room for mistakes when it comes to law enforcement. NONE! |
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As similar as the names are... this should have been an easy catch. They had to have taken fingerprints. Those wouldn't have matched the suspect, and she should have been set loose then and there. Furthermore, her identification should not have matched the suspect. The initial arrest might have been valid, but any time spent in jail, and not just at the local police station for identification, was a violation of her rights. Sorry to say it, but this doesn't classify as a mistake. This classifies as negligence on the part of the police. A close or same name should in no way cause you to be locked up for 5 days. Just on the information posted here (did not read the attatchement), I have to say I agree that the police would have been justified in taking her in for questioning AND verification of identity; the questioning would be in line of identifying her. After that, fingerprints, DNA, etc would have proved her identity and such, and then she would have been released to go back home, with absolutely nothing on her record, false or not. No, you could have run a background check on Christina Fourhorn and done a comparison check against Christin Four-Horn, and you would never have had to bother Christina at all. It could all be done on a computer without even talking to her. |
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How do you know they rushed to judgement? Whoever suggested they rushed to judgement was giving them the benefit of the doubt. If they didn't rush to judgement - if this was a careful and deliberate choice - thats even worse. This kind of thing should not be happening. |
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Yellowrose, it's getting dangerously close to "I am the Law!" Judge Dredd. Surely, you can see that. Prove it in court? Citizens should not have to go through all the hassle, expense, emotional trauma and incarceration just to show the courts how stupid and wrong they were to arrest you in the first place. We do not have to prove our innocence. THEY have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that WE are guilty. Probable cause seems to be a rather convenient loophole around all of this, and it is shameful how the police as an organization carry out their interpretation of the law. And yes, FourHorn, and so many others in the U.S. should be compensated ten-fold for what they had to go through. We simply cannot afford any more of these "mistakes" by the police or the courts any longer. this is suggesting to me that you think the cops should be judge, jury and executioner. Yes there are innocent people that are arrested, but until the courts hear the case, how do you suggest the cops handle it? If the person IS guilty, do you think they should be free to keep committing the crime until the court date? Take a case where there is a domestic violence case and both sides are accusing the other of assault. Should the cops hold a trial right then and there to decide? No that is the courts jobs. That is why we have courts and both sides are presented to a judge or jury. Are you suggesting other professions don't make mistakes??? Doctors make mistakes. Yes people suffer for it and should be compensated, but remember that these jobs are being done by humans that make mistakes at times. Sometimes the mistakes really impact another person and their families. |
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There is no room for mistakes when it comes to law enforcement. NONE! I think you are getting a little carried away there. No one has clarified what they mean by 'mistakes', but of course there is room for some mistakes in law enforcement. I remember a time a cop thought there was a vigorous disagreement in a crowd was a brawl, and called for backup. He was so embarrassed when it turned out there was no brawl. He made a mistake, but I think he erred on the right side. But we ought not to tolerate the kind of mistake that puts a completely innocent person in jail for several days simply because they have the same name as a suspect!! |
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she has an injurious tort, case of slander, and false arrest. now will she act on it is the question.
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a warrant is issued by a judge. Who says the warrant wasn't wrong (in which the judge or clerk made the mistake) In that case the cops weren't in the wrong because the judge or clerk was wrong. If the cops misread the warrant or info given, then yes the cops made the mistake.
I love how people blame the cops for everything without even knowing what they deal with. YES there are crooked cops out there (just like in all professions) but blaming all cops for the few can put a good cop in danger. They can't even pull someone over for speeding without worrying that the driver would pull a gun on them. I have, also, noticed that the media holds part of the blame for the cop hating. They rarely report on the good things they do. WHY??? because the bad things sell |
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so the judge did it.
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so the judge did it. didn't say that. I just offered that as another scenario because we don't know for sure |
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Okay, yellow, let me be clear here, YES, of course I know there are good cops out there. Two of my friends are officers in the Phoenix Police Department, and they are some dang good cops. But as an organization, as an entity, the overall mentality and judgement of the Police, needs to scrutinized and held accountable. That is the general theme of this thread. And more specifically to this particular case, what the police did in Mrs. Fourhorn's case was simply outrageous and a rush to judgement without examining all of the facts before making the arrest. This, I cannot forgive as a simple mistake.
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Okay, yellow, let me be clear here, YES, of course I know there are good cops out there. Two of my friends are officers in the Phoenix Police Department, and they are some dang good cops. But as an organization, as an entity, the overall mentality and judgement of the Police, needs to scrutinized and held accountable. That is the general theme of this thread. And more specifically to this particular case, what the police did in Mrs. Fourhorn's case was simply outrageous and a rush to judgement without examining all of the facts before making the arrest. This, I cannot forgive as a simple mistake. But again...was a mistake made on the warrant with the wrong information or did the cops read the info wrong? |
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Yellowrose, it's getting dangerously close to "I am the Law!" Judge Dredd. Surely, you can see that. Prove it in court? Citizens should not have to go through all the hassle, expense, emotional trauma and incarceration just to show the courts how stupid and wrong they were to arrest you in the first place. We do not have to prove our innocence. THEY have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that WE are guilty. Probable cause seems to be a rather convenient loophole around all of this, and it is shameful how the police as an organization carry out their interpretation of the law. And yes, FourHorn, and so many others in the U.S. should be compensated ten-fold for what they had to go through. We simply cannot afford any more of these "mistakes" by the police or the courts any longer. this is suggesting to me that you think the cops should be judge, jury and executioner. Yes there are innocent people that are arrested, but until the courts hear the case, how do you suggest the cops handle it? If the person IS guilty, do you think they should be free to keep committing the crime until the court date? Take a case where there is a domestic violence case and both sides are accusing the other of assault. Should the cops hold a trial right then and there to decide? No that is the courts jobs. That is why we have courts and both sides are presented to a judge or jury. Are you suggesting other professions don't make mistakes??? Doctors make mistakes. Yes people suffer for it and should be compensated, but remember that these jobs are being done by humans that make mistakes at times. Sometimes the mistakes really impact another person and their families. Oh the DV angle, I was really hoping you wouldn't go there, but go ahead, alot of DV cases are cold cases and are based on speculative and circumstantial evidence, not to mention hearsay, and they usually hold little weight in court in front of a jury. But why should it even get that far? If you're going to accuse someone of DV then you better have some solid evidence to back that up. See, herein' lies the problem. Noone thinks it will ever go to court in front of a jury, but it will. And if you're the perpetrator, accuser, victim, whatever, you need to think about that, because that's how it will end up, good or bad. |
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Okay, yellow, let me be clear here, YES, of course I know there are good cops out there. Two of my friends are officers in the Phoenix Police Department, and they are some dang good cops. But as an organization, as an entity, the overall mentality and judgement of the Police, needs to scrutinized and held accountable. That is the general theme of this thread. And more specifically to this particular case, what the police did in Mrs. Fourhorn's case was simply outrageous and a rush to judgement without examining all of the facts before making the arrest. This, I cannot forgive as a simple mistake. But again...was a mistake made on the warrant with the wrong information or did the cops read the info wrong? Well, if you want to get technical, the responsibilty goes to the judge or agency that issued the warrant. The cops would have then executed said warrant. But was there a warrant? |
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my point in the DV example was that it's not the cops job to decide guilt or innocent. They have a different job than the courts. They can take both to jail and let the courts sort it out (as it should be) OR they can let it go and tell them to play nice, in that case it could end up very badly.
Cops are not there to make a ruling that the courts are there to do. That would be like Judge Dred and the cops shouldn't have that much power. |
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