A California woman is suing the Los Angeles Police Department after being misidentified, arrested, and jailed for nearly two weeks.
While at Los Angeles International Airport preparing to travel to Mexico, Bethany K. Farber of Agoura Hills was approached by Transportation Security Administration officials saying there was a warrant for her arrest in Texas.
“They handcuffed her to a chair for two-plus hours until the authorities come and arrested her,” Rodney Diggs, one of Farber’s attorneys, said. “What’s interesting is at the time Ms. Farber is booked, the police do nothing to confirm whether or not this Bethany Farber is that Bethany Farber.”
Farber’s lawyers filed the lawsuit on Tuesday and asserted the warrant was for a different Bethany Farber but that the LAPD never looked up her fingerprints, birthdate, social security number, or a photo of her.
“I asked them repeatedly to double check, and they completely blew me off,” Farber told CBS-LA. “They said, ‘No. Bethany Farber, we have you.’ With the conditions of being in jail, how I was treated, everything I endured through that time, and everything that my family endured, there was a lot of distress in my family.”
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Farber was released after 13 days in jail. Her grandmother died a few days after she got out.
“I believe I would’ve had more time with her if this situation didn’t happen,” Farber said. “This has caused me a lot of distress in my life, a lot of anxiety. It has set me back financially.”
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Farber is seeking monetary compensation and wants reform with more accountability in the justice system.
“This is a case of negligence at its highest level and also a violation of Ms. Farber’s rights,” Diggs said.
The LAPD declined to comment in light of the pending litigation.
