Unlawfully arrested in Pennsylvania?
If you believe you have been unlawfully arrested, you will need a strong advocate to represent you in a court of law. Sometimes, people simply find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. And sometimes officers make mistakes as to who did what. In turn, the accused can get angry and defensive. When this happens, some officers take that as a threat and use force to arrest and detain a person who they should have otherwise ignored. A teacher from Pittsburgh was unlawfully arrested in June of 2013 after he left a community meeting in Homewood. Reports show that as the teacher was getting a business card from his vehicle to give to someone, a police cruiser sped by and startled him, nearly hitting the man. The 39-year-old Manchester Academic Charter School teacher said something along the lines of “Wow!” At this point the officer, who should have kept driving, turned his cruiser around and confronted the man. When the man became defensive, arguing he hadn’t done anything wrong, the police officer took it as a threat and unlawfully arrested the man. The man was charged with disorderly conduct, blocking a public sidewalk, and resisting arrest. He would spend twelve hours in jail before being released. The man has sued the officer since then for excessive force, malicious prosecution, false arrest, false imprisonment, and unlawful retaliation. However, the case was closed this past Wednesday by United States Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell, based on reports that the two sides had come to an agreement. The two men’s attorneys concurred that there is a proposal on the table that is awaiting confirmation of approval by the Pittsburgh City Council. A spokesperson from the mayor’s office declined to comment further. The charges against the man who was unlawfully arrested were withdrawn about a month after the incident by Allegheny County D.A. Steve Zappala. The officer remains on the force. If you believe you have been unlawfully arrested and possibly imprisoned, call Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney Gary Gerson at 412-219-6875 today for a free consultation. Source: TribLive.com, “Teacher arrested after Homewood community meeting might settle with city” 19 November 2014
