Holding D.C. Police Accountable for Alleged False Arrest, Assault, and Imprisonment of District Resident
Jackson v. District of Columbia et al.
In 2023, we filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia and two Metropolitan Police Department Officers (MPD) alleging that MPD officer seized and arrested Mr. Jackson without probable cause within seconds of approaching him on a sidewalk, assaulted him during the arrest, and then jailed Mr. Jackson for over 24 hours.
As described in the complaint, Mr. Jackson was standing outside in his neighborhood with some friends, wearing a face mask on a chilly day, when police officers abruptly pulled their vehicle up near him, grabbed him, put him in handcuffs, and placed him under arrest, all within a matter of seconds. Our lawsuit alleges that the officers falsely accused Mr. Jackson of driving a car that fled from police two days earlier, claiming to recognize Mr. Jackson as the driver even though he was wearing a face mask when they grabbed him.
According to the complaint, had the officers conducted even the simplest of investigations they could have easily determined that Mr. Jackson was not the person they were looking for: objective evidence showed that he was not in the area where the car allegedly fled from police, and he had no association with the car. Instead, per the complaint, the officers immediately grabbed an innocent man, embarrassed him in front of his neighbors, roughed him up to the point that medical attention was needed, and forced him to spend the night in jail. No charges were ever brought against Mr. Jackson, but he was left physically and emotionally traumatized from the encounter.
On behalf of Mr. Jackson, Civil Rights Corps has raised several claims against the police officers involved and the District of Columbia: False Arrest/False Imprisonment under the Fourth Amendment, Common Law False Arrest/False Imprisonment, Assault and Battery, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Negligence, and Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress.
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