Tuesday, November 07, 2006

IPD Mistaken Arrest Causes Nightmare For Woman

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Star's Jon Murray reports today on the mistaken arrest of Venus Jones by Indianapolis police. Jones was mistaken for a Tennessee woman with an outstanding arrest warrant. She was held by the Marion County Sheriff until she was extradited to Tennessee where authorities finally figured out she was the wrong woman three weeks after her ordeal began in Indianapolis. Murray writes:

Jones said she repeatedly told police officers in Indianapolis and Henry County, Tenn., that they had the wrong woman. She was arrested April 24 in the 2600 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street in Indianapolis and two weeks later was extradited to Tennessee.

A Tennessee judge ordered her released May 17, the lawsuit says, based on differences in the two women's names, Social Security numbers and birth dates.

"Lord have mercy," Jones said Monday, recalling the ride back to Indiana on a Greyhound bus paid for by Tennessee authorities. "I was just angry. I was just so relieved to get back home."

This one is a little hard to understand. How do you confuse the name "Venus D. Jones" with "Venus LeDue?" Not surprisingly, Ms. Jones is suing IPD and the Indianapolis Police Department in federal court for violating her constitutional rights.
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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10:00 AM EST

    The street officer who does not have the benefit of being able to finger print and properly identify this lady did the right thing. Often people lie or change their name slightly to avoid arrest. In this case the the Arrestee Processing Center dropped the ball and should be held responsible. They should have been easily able to properly identify this woman and end it when she was first brought in. Since MCSD took over operations at the APC it has been plagued with problems.

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