false arrest?

[SlayerJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

In August, my daughter made some allegations about sexual abuse by Mom's boyfriend. I filed a CPS report, we went to speak to the Sheriff and CPS and were told that they could not tell me not to follow the custody order in place but if I my daughter back to her mom's and she was abused again it could be "on me". So I notified her mom I wouldnt be bringing her back. Mom went to state police they would not interfere, so she went to the small village department where I live, and they came to the house, immediately threatened to arrest me. My wife had to literally call the Sheriff herself to get them to even acknowledge I might have had reason to keep her. The patrolmen spoke to CPS and were given false information, that the investigation was closed (it was not). I was placed in cuffs, put in the car and the police told my wife she had to give my daughter to her mom. I was taken to the station the judge was called, but before arraignment my wife managed to contact the Sheriff who called the Village Police and told them they were wrong. I was released. I was never read my Miranda Rights. I have photos of bruises on my wrists from the cuffs and a 2-3 inch cut on my leg from my legs hitting against the barrier in the car.

My question is if I have a case for false arrest. I have been told police can not enforce a family court order unless specifically ordered to do so. I ended up getting put on probation at work because I missed 3 hours while I was dealing with this, and would have been charged if not for my wife.

Should I pursue this?

 

[LdiJ]

I

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

In August, my daughter made some allegations about sexual abuse by Mom's boyfriend. I filed a CPS report, we went to speak to the Sheriff and CPS and were told that they could not tell me not to follow the custody order in place but if I my daughter back to her mom's and she was abused again it could be "on me". So I notified her mom I wouldnt be bringing her back. Mom went to state police they would not interfere, so she went to the small village department where I live, and they came to the house, immediately threatened to arrest me. My wife had to literally call the Sheriff herself to get them to even acknowledge I might have had reason to keep her. The patrolmen spoke to CPS and were given false information, that the investigation was closed (it was not). I was placed in cuffs, put in the car and the police told my wife she had to give my daughter to her mom. I was taken to the station the judge was called, but before arraignment my wife managed to contact the Sheriff who called the Village Police and told them they were wrong. I was released. I was never read my Miranda Rights. I have photos of bruises on my wrists from the cuffs and a 2-3 inch cut on my leg from my legs hitting against the barrier in the car.

My question is if I have a case for false arrest. I have been told police can not enforce a family court order unless specifically ordered to do so. I ended up getting put on probation at work because I missed 3 hours while I was dealing with this, and would have been charged if not for my wife.

Should I pursue this?

Dad...I have to tell you that you handled the whole thing wrong. I would suggest that you get a consult with a local family law attorney before you consider anything else at this point.

The police CAN enforce family court orders. Often they refuse to do so because they are civil matters, but they CAN enforce them. You were not actually arrested so you cannot sue for false arrest. You were merely temporarily detained.

Calling CPS is not necessarily a bad thing, but relying on that call without taking any emergency court action was where you messed up.

 

[SlayerJ]

I had planned on filing in court, unfortunately this came about on Friday and I had to return her on Friday. I ended up filing on the following Monday. I do have a attorney, he is who told me they can't enforce the orders. So (and not being a jerk here) you are saying that the police can "detain" you without cause. I was released and told they had nothing to hold me on because they only arrested me because they had received the false information.




Dad...I have to tell you that you handled the whole thing wrong. I would suggest that you get a consult with a local family law attorney before you consider anything else at this point.

The police CAN enforce family court orders. Often they refuse to do so because they are civil matters, but they CAN enforce them. You were not actually arrested so you cannot sue for false arrest. You were merely temporarily detained.

Calling CPS is not necessarily a bad thing, but relying on that call without taking any emergency court action was where you messed up.[/QUOTE]

 

[CdwJava]

It does actually sound like you were arrested as you were cuffed and transported to another location pending arraignment. The fact that you were subsequently released and (apparently) no criminal charges are pending does not change the fact you were arrested - even if the arrest is now legally considered a detention.

Having said that, you have to understand what an arrest is. An arrest merely requires that the police have probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that you committed the crime. In this instance, they apparently had reason to believe a court order was in place mandating you provide the child for visitation and you refused. Absent a court order to the contrary, the police do not have to take your word for anything. In fact, when CPS apparently declined to inform the police that there was a claim of abuse by mom's boyfriend, all that did was cement their probable cause. I do not see a case for false arrest.

If you suffered some form of injury from the improper application of the handcuffs or a boo-boo on your leg, get the damage documented by a medical professional (MRIs, X-Rays, medical exam) and make a claim for damages. You can also complain about the officer. However, if all you had was redness around your wrists for a day then that was likely brought on by the position that you sat in while in the car. Cuffs are uncomfortable and will almost always leave red marks where the straps contact the wrist even when applied very carefully and double-locked.

And, as a note, about 9 in 10 arrests will never require Miranda rights to be read.

 

[SlayerJ]

Thanks.

For clarification, the Village PD called the Sheriff, Sheriff told him the road patrol would need to call him as dispatch had no access to open or closed case files. We gave Village PD a case number for the Sheriff. Village PD called CPS, CPS on call worker told him there was an open case but that Sheriff's case was closed and therefor we had no reason to defy the order. Village PD did not call Sheriff back or wait for Road Patrol to contact them. We asked that they wait for the return call but they told me they had already given me "45 minutes of wasted time" and arrested me. My wife then made the call to the Sheriff and they put in an urgent request for the road patrol to call the Village PD.

From what you have said ( and I appreciate thank you) I don't think that what I wrote above changes things one bit, but figured I should clarify that.

It does actually sound like you were arrested as you were cuffed and transported to another location pending arraignment. The fact that you were subsequently released and (apparently) no criminal charges are pending does not change the fact you were arrested - even if the arrest is now legally considered a detention.

Having said that, you have to understand what an arrest is. An arrest merely requires that the police have probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that you committed the crime. In this instance, they apparently had reason to believe a court order was in place mandating you provide the child for visitation and you refused. Absent a court order to the contrary, the police do not have to take your word for anything. In fact, when CPS apparently declined to inform the police that there was a claim of abuse by mom's boyfriend, all that did was cement their probable cause. I do not see a case for false arrest.

If you suffered some form of injury from the improper application of the handcuffs or a boo-boo on your leg, get the damage documented by a medical professional (MRIs, X-Rays, medical exam) and make a claim for damages. You can also complain about the officer. However, if all you had was redness around your wrists for a day then that was likely brought on by the position that you sat in while in the car. Cuffs are uncomfortable and will almost always leave red marks where the straps contact the wrist even when applied very carefully and double-locked.

And, as a note, about 9 in 10 arrests will never require Miranda rights to be read.

 

[CdwJava]

Thanks.

For clarification, the Village PD called the Sheriff, Sheriff told him the road patrol would need to call him as dispatch had no access to open or closed case files. We gave Village PD a case number for the Sheriff. Village PD called CPS, CPS on call worker told him there was an open case but that Sheriff's case was closed and therefor we had no reason to defy the order.

Sounds like the cops that held you had probable cause to make an arrest based upon the existence of the custody order and your knowing and intentional refusal to adhere to it. Absent an order to the contrary, or an avenue in the law that permits you to disobey under certain circumstances (as exists in my state), there appears to have been ample probable cause to support an arrest.

Village PD did not call Sheriff back or wait for Road Patrol to contact them. We asked that they wait for the return call but they told me they had already given me "45 minutes of wasted time" and arrested me. My wife then made the call to the Sheriff and they put in an urgent request for the road patrol to call the Village PD.

From what you have said ( and I appreciate thank you) I don't think that what I wrote above changes things one bit, but figured I should clarify that.

Correct. It does not change the end result, though it did clarify some details.

As I mentioned, this is not going to be a matter for a false arrest. Clearly the police are giving you the benefit of the doubt as the police apparently released you without charges. I do not know, but maybe NY has a law similar to ours that permits one to disobey the order under a narrow span of conditions and provided you jump through certain hoops - like reporting the allegations to the authorities, which you did.