Pre-Settlement Funding for False Arrest
If someone is arrested without probable cause or when there is no warrant, it is often known as false arrest, which sometimes goes hand-in-hand with false imprisonment. There are different ways that something like this could happen, but for the person who falls victim to a false arrest, it can be very traumatizing. After all, being arrested and imprisoned can be stressful for anyone, but it is simply unjustifiable when the individual who was arrested is completely innocent. Although individuals who are innocent are sometimes arrested when they are suspected of committing a crime, a false arrest is different, as it technically means it is an arrest that should have never lawfully happened in the first place. When a specific arrest is officially ruled as a false arrest, the arresting officer may be facing criminal penalties. Additionally, the victim of a false arrest may also decide to pursue a false arrest lawsuit.
False arrest may happen due to several different reasons, including, but not limited to:
- A police officer’s personal feelings toward a specific individual or situation
- Lack of evidence
- Fabricated evidence and/or false confessions
- Mixing up people with the same names
Reasons for a False Arrest
There are different reasons why an individual may fall victim to a false arrest. These cases are unique and circumstances vary. In some situations, an innocent individual may be mixed up with someone else that has the identical name, and this is the individual that the police are actually looking for. Instead of arresting the correct suspect, police officers may end up arresting the wrong person, who is completely blindsided by the arrest. One woman in Denver, Colorado fell victim to this vey incident: she shared the exact same name as another woman, and the other woman was the actual person the police were looking for. Instead, the person they arrested is someone that had no criminal record and had absolutely no affiliation with any crime or act of wrongdoing. In this particular case, the police officer was accused of simply not doing enough research or due diligence to ensure that they were arresting the correct woman.
Another report in Kentucky revealed that an individual was arrested for filing complaints against a local sergeant. In an act of retaliation, the police officer arrested the individual who filed these complaints, without any probable cause whatsoever. This is an example of a police officer intentionally committing an act of false arrest, and the officer was also facing criminal charges for his actions. In other situations, a false arrest may simply be a mistake, but it is a mistake that it is inexcusable. After all, a mistake of this magnitude can easily ruin someone’s life.
Some false arrests are even more extreme, and may involve a police officer attempting to frame the arrested individual for the crime in question. There could be a number of reasons why a police officer would go to such extremes; for example, it could be a personal vendetta, or an attempt to cover up the actual facts of a case, and perhaps protect someone else who was involved with actually committing the crime. In the case of a Miami false arrest, a police chief was behind the orders of falsely arresting and framing two men for various burglaries. In this particular situation, the arresting officer fabricated false confessions from the individuals that he arrested. These false arrests were ordered simply to boost the police department’s arrest record.
After a False Arrest
When someone is falsely arrested, it can be an absolutely devastating situation: not just for the victim, but for the victim’s loved ones as well. It can be a humiliating, stressful, and costly ordeal. Until that individual has the opportunity to clear their name, their reputation is tarnished. Their name may easily show up in a quick Internet search, and they may temporarily have a criminal record. On top of all this, they may have had to spend time in jail before their false arrest was recognized. This is lost time that this innocent individual can never get back, and not to mention, false imprisonment can result in psychological and emotional damage. Although no amount of money from a lawsuit can ever right these wrongs, pursuing monetary compensation in a false arrest lawsuit is often the optimal way for a victim to finally get the justice they deserve.
If you’re working with an attorney on a false arrest lawsuit, you may have questions about when you can expect the case to settle. While there is no surefire way to confirm when exactly a case will settle, USClaims offers a solution to qualifying plaintiffs who are eager to receive money sooner. Pre-settlement funding, or a lawsuit advance, enables plaintiffs with qualifying lawsuits to receive money without the wait. Contact USClaims today to learn more and to determine if your case is eligible.
