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Left: Penny McCarthy (Institute for Justice). Right: McCarthy being mistakenly arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).
In March 2024, Penny McCarthy was doing yard work in front of her Arizona home when she was suddenly surrounded by U.S. marshals wielding rifles who ordered her to raise her hands.
They said they were there to arrest her for an outstanding warrant.
“For me?” a confused McCarthy asked, according to body camera footage.
“Yes, for you,” a marshal barked.
“Who am I,” McCarthy responded.
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The marshals didn’t answer, but they were there to arrest a woman named Carole Rozak — not McCarthy.
Although McCarthy, then 66 years old, insisted she wasn’t Rozak, the marshals detained her. This was the start of what she describes as a terrifying 24-hour ordeal, during which she was transported to a federal detention facility over an hour from her home and subjected to three strip searches.
Now McCarthy has filed a lawsuit against the marshals for wrongful arrest, according to the Institute for Justice.
“I’m still scared that I could be stopped and again mistaken for a lawbreaker,” McCarthy said in a statement. “I’m filing a lawsuit because I don’t want this to happen to others. Without holding someone accountable, others might endure this same terrifying experience.”
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After a “sleepless night in a cold jail cell,” the grandmother went before a judge for her first appearance. She told a public defender her predicament and he requested for more time to get the results of fingerprint and DNA comparisons. The judge released her pending the results of DNA and fingerprints comparison. Authorities dropped the case once it was confirmed McCarthy was not Rozak.
But the damage was done, her attorneys said. They say she moved out of the state after the incident and is scared to go outside and walk her dog.
Institute of Justice Senior Attorney Paul Avelar said the arrest violated both Arizona and federal law.
“To make matters worse, even if Penny had been the fugitive they were looking for, the officers’ over-the-top display of force was uncalled for, given that the fugitive was wanted only for failing to check in with a probation officer after being released from prison twenty-five years ago for nonviolent crimes,” Avelar said.
The 79-page lawsuit alleges the marshals failed to run basic checks to confirm McCarthy’s identity, including checking her photo ID which identified her.
“Had officers taken any steps to investigate Penny’s background, they would have learned that Penny was not Carole Rozak,” the lawsuit said.
The reason for the arrest warrant was Rozak failed to check in with a parole officer after her conviction for bank fraud, per cops.
McCarty is suing for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.
Colleen Grayman, a public information officer for the U.S. Marshals Service in Arizona, told McClatchy News that the agency acknowledged that it arrested the wrong person but said it does not comment on personnel matters or administrative investigations.
“Notwithstanding the above, we regret any inconvenience caused to Ms. McCarthy by her arrest and remain committed to lessening similar incidents in the future,” she said.
