Possible Police Misconduct During Arrest and Detention

[Kizoku]

The Short Version:

My brother's ex-wife is a psycho. As part of her ongoing (and fortunately, failing) effort to reclaim custody of my niece (whom she lost when her new husband decided to beat my 6-year-old niece), she has repeatedly made false accusations against my brother. Those accusations have ranged from phone harassment, stalking, domestic violence (alleged to have occurred several years ago, while they were still married), and physical assualt, all the way up to rape.

Every time she files these ridiculous charges, my brother gets dragged into court again. She never has a shred of evidence – and very frequently my brother has air-tight alibis and multiple witnesses to prove he could not possibly have done it – and every single time it's happened, the charges wind up being dropped almost immediately. (Although I should point out that all this nonsense has cost him about $15,000 in attorney's fees over the last two years.)

Well, here's where the possible Police Misconduct part comes into it…

Last week, the psycho made yet another false accusation against my brother. She claimed that he had shown up on her front porch at 9:00am, where he proceeded to verbally and physically assault her.

After all her other false accusations and dropped cases, one would think that the Police would at least consider the possibility that she was lying AGAIN. But for some idiotic reason, they didn't. Instead, they immediately went to my brother's house, put him in cuffs, and hauled him down to the jail on charges of "Domestic Violence" – which in itself is odd, because he doesn't live with the psycho anymore, so how is it "Domestic?" (Apparently she claims he does live with her though, as part of the extensive Welfare Fraud that she is somehow getting away with.)

Anyway, this is what I think might qualify as Misconduct:

1 - Although my brother was clearly "under arrest," he was never read his Miranda rights.

2 - Even though the non-existent assault had supposedly occurred at 9:00am, the Police deliberately waited to come arrest him until after 5pm, when it was too late to post bail (which was, incidentally, set at the utterly absurd figure of $10,000).

3 - My brother is diabetic and has severe asthma, and he requires medication for both conditions, and the Police had of course confiscated that at the jail – but then they literally refused to allow him to take that medication while he was there.

4 - When he was bailed out the next morning, the Police claimed to have "lost" that medication. They have yet to produce it.

In passing, I'd like to mention that at 9:00am last Thursday (at the very time of the non-existent assault), my brother was dropping his van off at a mechanic for repair. He had about a dozen witnesses who who could testify that he was twenty miles away and could not possibly have done what she accused him of.

But as a closing to the whole idiotic episode, when my brother showed up in court on Monday morning for his arraignment, he learned that they had in fact never actually pressed any charges against him. The case was apparently dropped before it ever even got to the courtroom – which was a slightly refreshing change for once, but it begs the question of Police Misconduct again, because…

5 - If he was "never actually charged with anything," then why was he placed under arrest, forced to spend the night in jail, and required to pay $1000 out of a $10,000 bond to get out?

And perhaps more importantly…

6 - The Police keep indulging the psycho *&^%$#@! by harassing my brother on her behalf!

Aren't the cops supposed to keep track of that sort of thing? Shouldn't they have a little notation in their records that says something like, "This one is a psycho, don't believe her BS stories unless she's got some solid evidence for a change?"

I realize they're obliged to investigate – but they didn't even ask my brother a single question, they just hauled him off!

Given the lengthy (and documented) history of her false accusations, isn't that Misconduct?

[moburkes]

1. You didn't say that they questioned him.
2. Okay.
3. Was the medicine is his pocket when they arrested him?
4. See question above.
5. Was he arrested? Charges don't happen until you go to court.
6. Are they NOT supposed to take accusations seriously?

[Kizoku]

1. You didn't say that they questioned him.
2. Okay.
3. Was the medicine is his pocket when they arrested him?
4. See question above.
5. Was he arrested? Charges don't happen until you go to court.
6. Are they NOT supposed to take accusations seriously?

1 - No, they never asked him any questions at all. Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of Miranda rights...? Are they not required to read them to you when they place you under arrest?

2 - "Okay?" Seems a little deliberately spiteful to me.

3 & 4 - Yes, he was carrying the medication with him (that's how severe the conditions are; he needs the medication to be available at all times).

5 - In what sense could he not have been "arrested?" He was cuffed, placed in the back of a squad car, thrown in a jail cell, and forced to pay $1000 bail to get out. If that doesn't qualify as "arrested," I'd like to know what does.

6 - When the accusations come from a chronic abuser of the system who has demonstrated a habitual and ongoing campaign of lies against her ex-husband in an attempt to bolster her custody battle? NO, they shouldn't take her accusations seriously.

[seniorjudge]

...
1 - No, they never asked him any questions at all. Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of Miranda rights...? Are they not required to read them to you when they place you under arrest?
....

No. Miranda deals with confessions.

[moburkes]

Were the medications in his pocket? I'm trying to figure out how he had them with him while he was in handcuffs.

For #2. There is no law that states that they have to jump up after every call and immediately investigate. Also, nothing in your post indicates that she called them at 9:01. She may have called at 4:59.

[Kizoku]

Yes, they were in his pocket. The police who initially took him into custody let him retain the medicine, and then it was taken from him at the jail. I really don't understand what difference that makes, though.

The relevant points here are that he wasn't allowed to take the medicine while he was in the jail, even though he needed it, and that the police claim the medicine was "lost" – which means he's out the cost of some very expensive prescriptions.

I'd also still like to know how being handcuffed, thrown in jail, and forced to pay $1000 bail to get out does not constitute being "arrested."