My fiance was arrested on Friday night (my birthday)...

And spent the night in jail.

We were walking to our hotel from a bar and two police officers were in the process of giving a man a sobriety test. We thought it would be quite interesting to watch. So we stopped, on the sidewalk, at least 10-20 yards from the police officers.

They realized we were watching them and ordered us to move on. My fiance said no, she was going to watch the proceedings. This angered one of the police officers, who then came over to her, grabbed her arm, and pushed her towards me, asking me "Is she yours? Take care of her."

I said "I don't control her" and the officer smirked. My fiance was quite insulted by the sexist comment, and proceed to tell the officer that his comment was rude and she didn't appreciate it at all. He was still holding her arm, and then took out his handcuffs and put them on her. I was absolutely shocked.

The officers then let the possible drunk driver go and put my fiance in the cop car.

They then proceeded to drill me for information, asking for my identity, and threatening to arrest me for obstruction if I didn't provide my own identity.

They told me they would let her go If I gave her a "talking to." So they proceeded to open the cop door, where I did my best to give her a (wink, wink), talking to, hoping that we could just end this now.

Another extremely sexist remark was made by the cop and it noticeably irritated my fiance once again. The second cop said "thats it, were taking her in." They put her back in the cop car and drove off.

She was in jail all night and was not released until 12:00 the next day.

On the report, they basically said she attacked the officer and "struck him" while he was in the process of giving a DUI test. This is completely false. We just wanted to watch the event, and when we did not want to move, the cop decided to direct his obvious anger towards us.

So, what do you think? I think the charges will be dropped, but should we take more action? She has bruises all over her arm in the shape of a hand print where the officer grabbed her arm. This officer was on a power trip and he should be brought to justice.

What the officer did was wrong. Of course he will never pay for anything he did.

Basically, what your fiancee did was very idiotic. When you are about to do something you have to take into account your actions. I'm fron Louisiana so I know a little bit about unfairness from police. Just gotta stay outta their way because they are accountable to no one. Sad but true.

False arrest lawsuits against a metropolitan police department can bring in, oh, six figures, for starters.

Good luck!

PS: Don't forget to mention "police brutality."

There are a number of local organizations that specialize in monitoring police behavior - usually with videocameras - and frequently find themselves in situations exactly like this one. If there isn't one in your town, the national umbrella group CopWatch may still have good advice. Try Berkeley CopWatch to start:

http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/

Be warned that the rhetoric of some of these groups can be a bit, er, vehement, but they're mostly good people.

this is worth following up and challenging.

That's pure abuse from the cop, and totally uncalled for. Any Chief of Police worth his/her salt will want to know the truth, and should seriously chastise that cop.

Sorry to hear it happened, but I'm proud of your fiance for standing up for what is right and saying, "No, I'm going to watch" and etc. Well done!

Yeah we are looking to get a lawyer first thing. Should be an interesting case.

Yes, you should take more action. The only reason cops do these things is that they think they can get away with it. It will be a tough fight, your word against his, but even if you don't win the complaint filed against him stays on his record.

Find a lawyer

File a harassment suit (no, you don't have to pursue it, just file it) to make sure police internal affairs is involved.

Don't expect help from the other cops. They stick together.

Yes, the charges will probably be dropped. Make a stink in the meantime, a big stink. The lawyer will be able to guide you on how to go to the media.

get medical evidence. Find out if there were any witnesses, especially ones that would correlate your story. Make out a complaint to the PD. They have to accept a complaint. Get a lawyer to handle the legal aspects.

There are numerous things in this story that are suspect...They let a possible drunk driver go, just to harass you? :wtf:

Write everything down as you remember, and turn it over to the DA's office...hit them every front you can think of...make them squirm...:)

get a lawyer asap.

File a complaint asap.

This cop physically assualted your fiance.

Wrongful arrest, kidnapping . This is serious abuse of power.

If you call his superior you will no doubt be told that he has been

transfered, fired, or quit for some other job but this will be b.s.


Your fiance is facing felony charges here, take it seriously

and tell them that you wish to file that complaint. They're required to have a process in place to do that.

It's important that an official complaint be filed against this specific officer. In the very least it goes on his record...

you should at all costs avoid giving the police the impression that you are monitoring them. Doing so marks you as Enemy #1 in their eyes -- you will be viewed as much more threatening than a terrorist or murderer.

Years ago -- well, more than 20 years ago now -- a co-worker was assaulted by police in Kenner when she tried to stop them from beating up her teen-age brother in front of their home. They both ended up being charged with assaulting an officer and it tooks years to straighten out, but by getting an attorney who specializes in brutality cases, they were able to get the charges dropped and to get the city to pay them damages.

Too many attorneys, who are not specialists are afraid of antagonizing police and judges, so they advise even innocent victims to accept a plea bargain. This means a criminal record. Your fiance certainly showed poor judgement but at this point the important thing is not to recriminate but to get an aggressive, unafraid attorney who thrives on brutality cases. Otherwise, it is likely she will end up with a conviction on her record for something she didn't do.

I wish you luck. I urge you to act on this now, start contacting people to locate a good name NOW, and to get the photographs of your fiance's injuries taken now. This case could go anywhere, from your fiance ending up pocketing some cash for being abused to your fiance in prison. You are going to have to do what it takes to get the right attorney.

I cannot emphasize this point too highly. There is no guarantee the charges will be dropped, in my friend's case, where she was beaten badly and so was her 14 year old brother, every effort was made to put them (the victims) in prison for many years. Keep in mind, the police department has every motive NOT to drop the case because dropping the case leaves them open to a lawsuit.

There are civil rights lawyers who specialize in police misconduct cases. Contact one (or contact you state Bar Association to get a referral), and document the be-jeebers out of everything.

Best of luck!

you will end up with more in the end. Also he needs to take the case without charging you unless he wins. In other words, he won't take the case unless he knows he can win.

but I know things like this happen. I agree with all of the above posters. Do not let it drop. Why do cops have to be such assholes,. especially to the people they are sworn to protect? God I hate authority.