Can You Sue the Police for Arresting You After a Suspect Uses Your Identity

One of the problems with many cop shows is that the more technical ones tend to show an unrealistic view of what the police can and cannot do and find out. This includes data and information from protected sources not a part of NCIC, and the fact that the data there is only as good - and as recent - as the data entered.

Even driver's licenses are not always great sources of physical information depending on the ages of the parties involved or how the information is volunteered. Since the DMV (at least in CA) enters the data that the customer enters, I could say I was 6'4" and 180 lbs and that's what my license would say ... note, I am shorter and heavier than that. And women tend to enter a weight they HOPE to be at, not the weight they are currently at. And, when you are younger, they might renew your license but not your info for many years. I was 28, as I recall, before my license indicated I was no longer 5'5" and 135 lbs (which is what it was when I got my license at age 16) and at the time I was 5'9" and 160 lbs. and had been stopped a few times (cited three times by 22) without anyone ever saying anything.

Actions tend to be evaluated on what is reasonable, and the law that you found - and as it exists in CA - seem to reflect this. The alternative might be a lot of custodial arrests which can be costly and time-consuming, not to mention embarrassing for people that might have otherwise been on a short drive to the store without a purse or wallet, or a walk around the corner from their house. It sucks to have a loved one do this, and it happens. Sadly, the common denominator is almost always dope.

In my state licenses are good for five years, and every other license you can renew by mail, using the picture from your old one. As a result, the picture on my license is 8 years old; my hair is a different color, my weight is...well, let's just say not the same as it was eight years ago, and my glasses are different. Heaven knows what other differences will show up in the next two years. I will grant that I am still five two, and my eyes are still the same color.

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Quoting cbg

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In my state licenses are good for five years, and every other license you can renew by mail, using the picture from your old one. As a result, the picture on my license is 8 years old; my hair is a different color, my weight is...well, let's just say not the same as it was eight years ago, and my glasses are different. Heaven knows what other differences will show up in the next two years. I will grant that I am still five two, and my eyes are still the same color.

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In the high school classes I teach, I can do roll by student picture, and some of the pics were taken when the kids were freshman - they are now juniors and seniors, and about a third of them i can't completely recognize from their pics just two and three years ago!

Sometimes looking at driver's license can be the same thing ... it looks something like the person holding it, but there's no way to be certain sometimes - which is why we ask verifying questions like the address on the license, maybe a prior address (that we can look up or ask the dispatcher about), or even what DMV office they got their license through (those codes are indicated on the printout if you know what to look for). I try to take a digital image of people I contact without ID or with questionable ID so that I have something to refer back to later. But, that wouldn't prevent a person whose ID was stolen from getting a warrant for an FTA, and it happens.

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Quoting cdwjava

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2.04 describes the requirements for a judge to issue a warrant based upon probable cause ... PC that would appear to have existed at the time. And 2.06 covers what should be contained in the warrant:

It shall name or describe the offenses charged to have been committed
and the county in which they are alleged to have occurred, specify the name of the defendant, or,
if the defendant's name is unknown, any name or description by which the defendant can be
identified with reasonable certainty, and the name of the complaining party or parties.

How were these requirements NOT met if the officers believed they had the name and identification of the suspect involved, and the judge concurred and issued a warrant?


Which is a relatively low standard. Once again, we don't know what steps the police took to match the name of the suspect with the ID. DNA would be extreme, but matching a name, birthdate, and an address is generally sufficient for a CITATION. Remember, this was originally a citation for the theft, not a custodial arrest. The warrant was for failing to appear. How is this the fault of the store or the police if the court issued a warrant for what was probably FTA?


And, can you post the minimum legal requirement for suspect identification required by an officer in KY before he can write a citation? Maybe it exists, but I can't find it. I know in MY state, we CAN issue a citation without the added scrutiny. As I said, it's unwise, but not unlawful and likely not outside any agency policy. Now if the employing agency had a policy mandating officers run the poor sot in if he lacks good ID, then there MIGHT be a case. As it is, I don't see it.


They could not have gotten anything from a SSN, so that is NOT what happened. Unlike TV, an SSN is worthless for ID as it does not contain physical descriptions, rarely contains anything more than an address, and takes a lot of hoop jumping to obtain data on. One cannot simply query a database like they do on CSI to find out job history and other info.

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ACTUALLY!!!! When the person gave them my SSN, my description from my DL was stated on the citiation. So OBVIOUSLY when giving the police a SSN details do come up such as height, weight, eye color, etc. I have the citation that that gave the person, i obtained a copy when I went to court. My case was dismissed because it obviously wasn't me. But damn it someone should have to pay for all these fee's that I incurred during this mess. And the perp that done it would never pay a dime.

SO again..... (((((( Person gave police my SSN. At which then, gave the police officer my DESCRIPTION. In which, in noway, shape or form matches the one that was standing infront of their face. ))))

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Quoting cdwjava

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Your SSN is NOT good ID, so that could not have been used to identify you. Contrary to the impression provided on TV, it is no easy task to run someone for identification by SSN. Even if you do, there is no physical description available. This is why SSNs are not considered valid ID.

Chances are he also gave your name and birthdate (or something close enough not to raise any red flags with the police at the time of the contact. Since it appears to have been a family member, that explains how he knew so much about you.


Unless their actions were reckless or irresponsible in some way, probably not. So long as the police acted reasonably and within accepted practice and agency policy, they are likely immune from any claims.


If your attorney failed to subpoena these folks, then that's your attorney's bad.

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You can sue the person who identified himself as you. But, as you mention, he has nothing so it's not likely worth the effort.


What you BELIEVE doesn't mean a hill of beans. It's what you can prove.


Again, your SSN is not a good identifier, so that wouldn't mean much to the police unless they were matching the information to a criminal history record (aka Rap sheet).

When the police made contact with the suspect, what did they do? Issue a citation? Book him into jail with photos and prints? What? Issuing a citation without good identification can be sloppy, but it may not be reckless or unreasonable.

Do you have any idea what steps the police took to try and confirm the suspect's identity? Again, if these actions were reasonable and within policy, you likely have no cause of action.

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Not quite. If the store personnel stated that they caught this guy stealing, that's usually sufficient PC for the police to act on and to make an arrest. Being correct isn't the issue so much as acting reasonably and lawfully. One can make a lawful arrest and not even have the right guy. The statndard for probable cause to make an arrest is significantly less than that necessary for a conviction.


I can agree with that.


I don't know the process in KY, but under the circumstances I would guess that the suspect was issued a citation and then failed to appear in court. This FTA likely caused the issuance of an arrest warrant with the OP's name and information on it and he was arrested or issued a summons to appear.

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I have a clean background, Nothing at all on it. From what i can tell, all they did was let the (((family member))) *You guessed it*** give them my ssn along with my name, and gave a citation to appear in court. Still, on the citation, states my description. Which the person that done it looks nothing like me at all. Why was it so hard to look at him and compare with my description? It's like they just took the info, and left it at that. Here in KY you DL expires every 4 years, you have to do in, take a new photo to renew. I'm pretty much just going to let it go, seems like alot of trouble to even try to get some of my money back.

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But damn it someone should have to pay for all these fee's that I incurred during this mess. And the perp that done it would never pay a dime.

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but that is who is responsible for the issue. It is not the police or courts fault the guy won't pay you.

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So OBVIOUSLY when giving the police a SSN details do come up such as height, weight, eye color, etc. I have the citation that that gave the perso

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then they gave the cop more than the SSN. You cannot get a physical description from a SSN. There is no physical description associated with it.

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Quoting MCox

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ACTUALLY!!!! When the person gave them my SSN, my description from my DL was stated on the citiation. So OBVIOUSLY when giving the police a SSN details do come up such as height, weight, eye color, etc.

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Then the citing officer got it from some other source. Probably by running your driver's license. The SSA does NOT have your description and vital statistics, and the police can NOT access even what limited info they might have without jumping through a bunch of hoops that cannot be done in the course of your typical call in the field. It often takes a couple of business days if expedited.

Now, if you had previous police contacts (such as an arrest) and they have a good local (city of county) computer database, their dispatcher might have been abe to match a SSN with the rest of your data. But, unless you had been booked or had been a victim/witness a crime where they obtained a lot of really detailed info, they wouldn't have had that info locally.

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SO again..... (((((( Person gave police my SSN. At which then, gave the police officer my DESCRIPTION. In which, in noway, shape or form matches the one that was standing infront of their face. ))))

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Since you are so determined to hear the answer you want that you have won the lawsuit lottery, here is what you do ... speak with an attorney. If the attorney does cartwheels in the office and immediately calls his wife saying they will be headed to Bora Bora next summer, it's a winner. If he asks for money up front or verbally tapdances saying he's too busy, it's a dog.

Let us know how that goes.

Once again, the police work or verification process MIGHT have been sloppy, but that doesn't necessarily rise to the level that would allow you to receive any form of financial compensation. All you can do is ask some attorneys about it. But, given the amount of the actual damages, and maybe a little more for the embarrassment, etc., I doubt this will be worth the effort of an attorney even if done on contingency.

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Quoting cdwjava

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Then the citing officer got it from some other source. Probably by running your driver's license. The SSA does NOT have your description and vital statistics, and the police can NOT access even what limited info they might have without jumping through a bunch of hoops that cannot be done in the course of your typical call in the field. It often takes a couple of business days if expedited.

Now, if you had previous police contacts (such as an arrest) and they have a good local (city of county) computer database, their dispatcher might have been abe to match a SSN with the rest of your data. But, unless you had been booked or had been a victim/witness a crime where they obtained a lot of really detailed info, they wouldn't have had that info locally.


Since you are so determined to hear the answer you want that you have won the lawsuit lottery, here is what you do ... speak with an attorney. If the attorney does cartwheels in the office and immediately calls his wife saying they will be headed to Bora Bora next summer, it's a winner. If he asks for money up front or verbally tapdances saying he's too busy, it's a dog.

Let us know how that goes.

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All i did was ask what or if anything could be done. So it is what it is. As far as my description etc.... I don't know how many times i need to say, i have NO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND, So running my ssn etc etc to match my DL blah blah, I have already said here in KY, if they run your SSN, IT's obviously attached to a DL. But once again, if the ****ed up sloppy ass cop would have looked at what he printed on his little ass computer, and looked at the person standing in front of his face, it would have clearly went a different way. THE DAMN DUDE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE DISCRIPTION. Anyway, im done trying to explain myself 100000 times.

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Quoting jk

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but that is who is responsible for the issue. It is not the police or courts fault the guy won't pay you.




then they gave the cop more than the SSN. You cannot get a physical description from a SSN. There is no physical description associated with it.

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Lol, I don't understand, or know how i can be any more clear. I mean honestly.

"gave the cop more info"? --- What does that have to to with it? NOTHING at all.


On the citation that i have in front of my as we speak says this:

(name change) for privacy. of course,lol

John Doe
1234 Dog St
Louisville,ky 40213

5-7,155lbs, blue eyes,

Why wouldn't the cop LOOK at what was printed on his citation?
Said perp
Taller, (ALOT), dark eyes, way different weight. (i know you can gain or lose weight but still)

The description the cop was givin from whatever database they use, looks nothing like the person that was standing face to face with him... I don't understand what is so hard to get. I mean why not atleast get a finger print? anything to verify a person. But anyhow, I don't care anymore, (my lawyer did tell me he could sue,but its not worth it anymore to me.)

Thanks alot of SOME of you alls help and advice, but SOME of you are morons.

Thanks.


PS: "Cop got info from another source" No, obviously in KENTUCKY, if they run your SSN, its attached to your DL or soemthing. I HAVE NO RECORD PERIOD.Not even a speeding ticket.

The government is so messed up and the justice system even more.

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Quoting MCox

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I have already said here in KY, if they run your SSN, IT's obviously attached to a DL.

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Okay, let me explain this slowly ... your Social Security Number (SSN) is issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The record maintained by the SSA does NOT have ANY physical descriptors. AND! The SSN cannot be run through the SSA by an officer in the field. SO, what limited info IS there is NOT readily available.

IF (and it's a BIG "if") they used your SSN, they likely ran it in conjunction with your name and DOB and came back with a match on your driver's license and used THAT information on the citation.

It is also possible that if you have had any prior tickets or police contacts as a witness, victim, suspect, etc., that your SSN was in a local (city or county) computer database and paired with your name in THAT system. But, since it is highly unusual for an officer to run a person using an SSN except to try and match a hit on an arrest warrant, I'd wager that they ran the name and birthdate given to them and NOT the SSN.

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But once again, if the ****ed up sloppy ass cop would have looked at what he printed on his little ass computer, and looked at the person standing in front of his face, it would have clearly went a different way.

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And the officer almost certainly did not have a computer with him while inside the business. He almost certainly used a phone or radio to contact a dispatcher or records clerk and copied the info they were provided.

You are certainly free to complain to the agency or to interview attorneys and see if any of them will sue the police on contingency. Chances are they would want payment up front because the potential award would be small and hardly a certainty.

I agree that if the description was significantly off that the officer should have taken additional steps to guarantee identification. However, as I have stated, being sloppy does not necessarily rise to the level of unreasonable or even an event that is actionable.

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THE DAMN DUDE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE DISCRIPTION. Anyway, im done trying to explain myself 100000 times.

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Maybe you could try listening one time.