Penny McCarthy was working in her front yard when U.S. Marshals sped down her road, blocked her in her driveway, and held her at gunpoint. They called her a name she had never heard: “Carole Rozak.” Bodycam footage of the arrest shows Penny’s confusion as the marshals yell at her to look away from them, insisting that she should know they are police. Less than two minutes after the marshals confronted her, Penny was put into the back of an unmarked van and shackled.
She spent the next day in custody, being called by someone else’s name.
Government officials should be held accountable when their inexcusable mistakes harm people and violate their rights. That is why Penny is teaming up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to hold the officers and the United States government accountable for their errors and to guard against this nightmare happening to someone else.
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4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Arizona Mistaken Identity Arrest
Penny McCarthy was mistaken for another woman and violently arrested by armed U.S. Marshals. She is suing over the violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.