Falsely Arrested? Help!

[Just Blue]

No neither. I have one child but I'm with her mother so there's nothing like that.

It very likely is just an error. Sorry this happened to you. Let us know how it turns out okay?

 

[worrywart101892]

Thank you both! It's been pretty rough so hopefully it will all work out.

 

[quincy]

Thank you both! It's been pretty rough so hopefully it will all work out.

You might want to get a copy of your driving record and also have the Florida DMV check their database for errors. It is possible that the DMV did not update their records to reflect you downgraded your CDL to a Class E license.

Good luck. And thanks for the thanks. We appreciate them.

 

[HighwayMan]

When the police run a license check in a situation such as yours it can be very confusing to look at because the word "suspended" shows up and requires the officer to very carefully scrutinize the license information. Add to that the fact that most ordinary officers do not do commercial vehicle enforcement and may not be familiar with the medical requirements of a CDL and the fact that a CDL may be suspended or otherwise invalid while the license "reverts" to a regular passenger vehicle class license.

Your best bet, as you were advised, is to speak with a local attorney who is familiar with such issues and take it from there.

 

[Zigner]

When the police run a license check in a situation such as yours it can be very confusing to look at because the word "suspended" shows up and requires the officer to very carefully scrutinize the license information. Add to that the fact that most ordinary officers do not do commercial vehicle enforcement and may not be familiar with the medical requirements of a CDL and the fact that a CDL may be suspended or otherwise invalid while the license "reverts" to a regular passenger vehicle class license.

Your best bet, as you were advised, is to speak with a local attorney who is familiar with such issues and take it from there.

If this was simply a matter of the officer arresting him because he didn't understand the report (due to a lack of training), then the OP may, in fact, have some civil remedy against the department.

 

[quincy]

If this was simply a matter of the officer arresting him because he didn't understand the report (due to a lack of training), then the OP may, in fact, have some civil remedy against the department.

I do not see that there is a false arrest cause of action.

In Georgia, to support a claim of false arrest, it must be shown that the arrest was made without probable cause and with malicious intent.

This sounds more like a database error of some sort to me.

Here is a link to Georgia's law on false arrests: https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2017/title-51/chapter-7/article-1/

I think I would start with a check of the driving record and the DMV database.

 

[HighwayMan]

It may not even be a matter of training - the OP's type of situation is pretty rare in my experience.

I was working a truck inspection detail once with NYS DOT truck inspectors. We stopped a truck and ran the driver's license and got the same information back that apparently came back after running the OP's license.

I and another senior officer stood there and scratched our heads trying to make heads or tails out of what we were seeing. We could not figure out what the actual status of the license was. What solved it was one of the DOT inspectors who told us that the driver's CDL was no longer valid due to an expired medical card. He saw that when he ran the license through their system which is different than running it through DMV.

In any event, my take on it was if there was any doubt that doubt goes to the driver and no enforcement action is taken, but that's just me. As it turned out we didn't need to worry about that once we found out the true story.

 

[quincy]

Database errors are not uncommon so my gut tells me that the officers relied on incorrect information, probably traceable to an incorrect entry in Florida.

Of course, my gut also convinces me at times to eat at Taco Bell ... so it cannot be trusted.