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Strip Search in Fresno
Police arrest and strip search Firebaugh woman - then say it was all a mistake.
Mistaken Identity
Firebaugh woman sues county after arrest, strip search at jail.
By Jerry Bier
The Fresno Bee
(Published Monday, November 3, 2003, 5:34 AM)
They knocked on Maria Munoz's door at 9:30 a.m. on a Friday and told her she was under arrest.
She was not the person they were looking for, Munoz protested. She was not Maria Herrera.
The Fresno County sheriff's deputies took her from her Firebaugh home, her hands cuffed behind her back.
She was booked into the Fresno County Jail and underwent a strip search. She was ordered to remove all her clothes, get on her hands and knees on the concrete floor, raise one leg and then the other -- then stand and spread her buttocks.
Fourteen hours after her ordeal began, she was released from custody. The trauma of the events in September 2002 left the woman, now 59 years old, sickened and in the hospital for two days.
As it turned out, Munoz, whose full name is Maria Alvarado De Munoz, was not the woman sought by the deputies, and charges against her were dismissed.
Munoz, represented by San Francisco lawyers Arturo J. Gonzalez and Robert Y. Chan, later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county.
Her case is scheduled for a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger on Tuesday.
Gonzalez, who has won a number of high-profile cases against Valley law enforcement agencies, said Munoz, who suffers from diabetes and has had two open-heart surgeries, couldn't get the deputies to listen to her.
At both the courthouse and later in the jail, "she tried in vain to tell [deputies] that they had arrested the wrong woman," Gonzalez said.
Lawyers James J. Arendt and James D. Weakley, representing the county, said the officers tell a different story.
According to court documents, deputies Gary Haslam and David Cunha went to the home in Firebaugh on Sept. 20, 2002, to serve a no-bail, felony warrant issued in 1991. They had information the home at 1940 Tri Circle was where Herrera was living.
Munoz answered the door and did not speak English, the deputies said, and identified herself as Maria Munoz -- one of the aliases used by Herrera. Munoz's drivers license and Social Security number also matched those used by Herrera.
Though Munoz insisted she was not the person they wanted, the deputies "eventually came to the reasonable belief that [Munoz] was, in fact, the person identified on the warrant" based on the information that had been provided to them, Arendt said.
The trip to the jail included "normal intake procedures" of medical screening, booking, fingerprints, photographs and classification, according to court documents filed on behalf of the deputies.
And the strip search was "in compliance with Fresno County Jail policy."
The deputies and the county shouldn't be liable for any claims of false arrest because they acted on information provided to them at the time, according to the county's attorneys.
There is also information in court documents that Munoz knew Herrera and also that the woman the deputies were searching for had at one time lived in the Munoz home.
Another claim filed against the county contends that when Munoz, who has no criminal record, protested in Spanish to a Hispanic jail employee during her incarceration, she allegedly was rebuffed with the words, "We're not in Mexico."
Neither side has budged in the yearlong legal battle and, unless there is a last-minute settlement, it will be up to a jury to decide the outcome.
The real Maria Herrera never was arrested.
The reporter can be reached at jbier [at] fresnobee.com or 441-6484.
Firebaugh woman sues county after arrest, strip search at jail.
By Jerry Bier
The Fresno Bee
(Published Monday, November 3, 2003, 5:34 AM)
They knocked on Maria Munoz's door at 9:30 a.m. on a Friday and told her she was under arrest.
She was not the person they were looking for, Munoz protested. She was not Maria Herrera.
The Fresno County sheriff's deputies took her from her Firebaugh home, her hands cuffed behind her back.
She was booked into the Fresno County Jail and underwent a strip search. She was ordered to remove all her clothes, get on her hands and knees on the concrete floor, raise one leg and then the other -- then stand and spread her buttocks.
Fourteen hours after her ordeal began, she was released from custody. The trauma of the events in September 2002 left the woman, now 59 years old, sickened and in the hospital for two days.
As it turned out, Munoz, whose full name is Maria Alvarado De Munoz, was not the woman sought by the deputies, and charges against her were dismissed.
Munoz, represented by San Francisco lawyers Arturo J. Gonzalez and Robert Y. Chan, later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county.
Her case is scheduled for a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger on Tuesday.
Gonzalez, who has won a number of high-profile cases against Valley law enforcement agencies, said Munoz, who suffers from diabetes and has had two open-heart surgeries, couldn't get the deputies to listen to her.
At both the courthouse and later in the jail, "she tried in vain to tell [deputies] that they had arrested the wrong woman," Gonzalez said.
Lawyers James J. Arendt and James D. Weakley, representing the county, said the officers tell a different story.
According to court documents, deputies Gary Haslam and David Cunha went to the home in Firebaugh on Sept. 20, 2002, to serve a no-bail, felony warrant issued in 1991. They had information the home at 1940 Tri Circle was where Herrera was living.
Munoz answered the door and did not speak English, the deputies said, and identified herself as Maria Munoz -- one of the aliases used by Herrera. Munoz's drivers license and Social Security number also matched those used by Herrera.
Though Munoz insisted she was not the person they wanted, the deputies "eventually came to the reasonable belief that [Munoz] was, in fact, the person identified on the warrant" based on the information that had been provided to them, Arendt said.
The trip to the jail included "normal intake procedures" of medical screening, booking, fingerprints, photographs and classification, according to court documents filed on behalf of the deputies.
And the strip search was "in compliance with Fresno County Jail policy."
The deputies and the county shouldn't be liable for any claims of false arrest because they acted on information provided to them at the time, according to the county's attorneys.
There is also information in court documents that Munoz knew Herrera and also that the woman the deputies were searching for had at one time lived in the Munoz home.
Another claim filed against the county contends that when Munoz, who has no criminal record, protested in Spanish to a Hispanic jail employee during her incarceration, she allegedly was rebuffed with the words, "We're not in Mexico."
Neither side has budged in the yearlong legal battle and, unless there is a last-minute settlement, it will be up to a jury to decide the outcome.
The real Maria Herrera never was arrested.
The reporter can be reached at jbier [at] fresnobee.com or 441-6484.
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Comments
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What's all the hub bub about? Sounds like a routine arrest on a suspect. What, cops can't make mistakes? Although, only time will tell is the cops actually made a mistake.
I had a cop pull me over the other day because he said I looked suspicious. I laughed and said I bet I do. He ran my name, found nothing and let me go. Should i run to indymedia and International ANSWER and have them protest for me in the streets?
Lame! Don't you people have anything better to do?
I had a cop pull me over the other day because he said I looked suspicious. I laughed and said I bet I do. He ran my name, found nothing and let me go. Should i run to indymedia and International ANSWER and have them protest for me in the streets?
Lame! Don't you people have anything better to do?
Hey Big Deal,
Don't *you* have anything better to do than surf a website you obviously hate and post your lame criticisms?
This story is signficant because of the strip search. Stip searches are not standard procedure for all arrests made in the U.S. Court cases have demonstrated that they have at times been used by foul cops to get their jollies off. I personally have friends who have been searched by perverted cops. An outrageous story like this is a big deal because (a) it calls the cops' procedures for exercising the warrant into question, (b) calls the procedures used to issue the warrant into question, (c) raises the question of whether the strip search was in fact standard procedure or not, and (d) gives the public the opportunity to to question whether strip searches are appropriate standard procedure for the jail in question. Invasions of liberty require major justifications, not just, "You look suspicious."
Don't *you* have anything better to do than surf a website you obviously hate and post your lame criticisms?
This story is signficant because of the strip search. Stip searches are not standard procedure for all arrests made in the U.S. Court cases have demonstrated that they have at times been used by foul cops to get their jollies off. I personally have friends who have been searched by perverted cops. An outrageous story like this is a big deal because (a) it calls the cops' procedures for exercising the warrant into question, (b) calls the procedures used to issue the warrant into question, (c) raises the question of whether the strip search was in fact standard procedure or not, and (d) gives the public the opportunity to to question whether strip searches are appropriate standard procedure for the jail in question. Invasions of liberty require major justifications, not just, "You look suspicious."
Big Deal says:
“What, cops can't make mistakes?”
The cops seem to make a lot of mistakes out here in the Central Valley. Not long ago a Madera police officer arrested and put this guy in the back of the patrol car. He was complaining (loudly) that his handcuffs were on too tight. What does the officer do? She takes her gun and puts a bullet straight through the guys heart. She said she though she drew her taser. Oh well...mistakes happen.
Not long before that, a teenager in Fresno allegedly took a 12 pack of beer from a liquor store. The police found the van, the teenager, and his friends not far from the crime scene. The police ordered everyone out of the van. Everyone got out but one scared kid. He hit the gas and tried to drive away. There were no police or anyone else in front of him that were at risk of being run over. The police open fire because they thought they heard a gun shot. No gun was found. Dead was a young man who might have stolen some beer.
A week ago there was a shooting at a bar down the street from where I live in Fresno. Security guards said that a red Grand Prix was seen leaving the scene. 15 minutes later a red Grand Prix was seen on Blackstone Avenue. The police put on their lights and the Grand Prix took off. A couple of blocks later the parolee in the car abandons his car and starts to run across a field. Two police cars pull up, jump out, and open fire. Over 50 shots rang out. The suspect lay dead in the field. Killed from a shot in his back. No weapon was ever found. Was this the same red car that left the bar earlier in the evening. Nobody seems to know.
As in the first two incidents, no charges will be brought against the police. Charges are never filed against police who “make mistakes” in the Central Valley. That is why there is an effort here to establish an Independent Police Auditor. We need police accountability! Here is information about the group working on this project. There next meeting is:
Wednesday, November 19
6:00 PM
Central California Criminal Justice Committee at the Sarah McCardle Room (downtown library)
They will be asking the Human Relations Commission to bring the proposal for an Independent Police Auditor to the City Council, since the
“What, cops can't make mistakes?”
The cops seem to make a lot of mistakes out here in the Central Valley. Not long ago a Madera police officer arrested and put this guy in the back of the patrol car. He was complaining (loudly) that his handcuffs were on too tight. What does the officer do? She takes her gun and puts a bullet straight through the guys heart. She said she though she drew her taser. Oh well...mistakes happen.
Not long before that, a teenager in Fresno allegedly took a 12 pack of beer from a liquor store. The police found the van, the teenager, and his friends not far from the crime scene. The police ordered everyone out of the van. Everyone got out but one scared kid. He hit the gas and tried to drive away. There were no police or anyone else in front of him that were at risk of being run over. The police open fire because they thought they heard a gun shot. No gun was found. Dead was a young man who might have stolen some beer.
A week ago there was a shooting at a bar down the street from where I live in Fresno. Security guards said that a red Grand Prix was seen leaving the scene. 15 minutes later a red Grand Prix was seen on Blackstone Avenue. The police put on their lights and the Grand Prix took off. A couple of blocks later the parolee in the car abandons his car and starts to run across a field. Two police cars pull up, jump out, and open fire. Over 50 shots rang out. The suspect lay dead in the field. Killed from a shot in his back. No weapon was ever found. Was this the same red car that left the bar earlier in the evening. Nobody seems to know.
As in the first two incidents, no charges will be brought against the police. Charges are never filed against police who “make mistakes” in the Central Valley. That is why there is an effort here to establish an Independent Police Auditor. We need police accountability! Here is information about the group working on this project. There next meeting is:
Wednesday, November 19
6:00 PM
Central California Criminal Justice Committee at the Sarah McCardle Room (downtown library)
They will be asking the Human Relations Commission to bring the proposal for an Independent Police Auditor to the City Council, since the
For more information:
http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home
Sure mistakes happen. And golly, what a coincidence that they almost always happen to queers, women, people of color, and/or poor people. And golly, what a coincidence that when the rare mistakes that target men, white people, straight people, and/or rich people happen there are huge apologies from the police...
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