Settlement Obtained for Victim of False Arrest

Sullivan & Brill, LLP, with the assistance of co-counsel, recently obtained a $250,000 settlement on behalf of a middle-eastern man falsely accused of scalping tickets in front of a well-known Manhattan theater. The man was online at the theater when he saw people he know from his community. He walked forward to say hello, when a private security guard approached him and accused him of scalping tickets. He denied the accusations and refused to leave the theater. The New York City Police were called. When he refused to leave, his arm was twisted behind his back, he was thrown on the ground and arrested. The police would only agree to release him from the precinct if he signed something saying he was not injured. He refused so he was booked on charges of trespassing and scalping. The criminal charges were eventually dismissed. A federal civil rights lawsuit was brought against the New York City Police Department and the theater claiming that the client’s civil rights were violated as a result of the false arrest, false imprisonment and police brutality. During the pre-trial phase of the case, the New York false arrest lawyers uncovered the existence of a video tape of the incident that had mysteriously disappeared. This fact opened the door to the $250,000 settlement for the false arrest and one night of false imprisonment suffered by the client.