Grandma "Kidnapped" by US Marshals

She was on her driveway in Phoenix, Arizona, in a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and slippers, when a team of United States Marshals pulled up in unmarked vehicles and aimed firearms at her. Penny—who is a 67-year-old grandmother—was clearly at their mercy. And yet, the officers threatened to “hit” her, frisked her, placed her in handcuffs and ankle shackles, and drove her away from home.

The officers did not so much as check Penny’s driver’s license or run any other basic checks on her identity before violently arresting her.

The whole time, Penny calmly but persistently insisted that there must be a mistake. The officers claimed that she was Carole Rozak, for whom they had an arrest warrant. But Penny was not Rozak, and Penny had no connection to Rozak. The officers had made a huge, inexcusable error. 

Penny had her mugshot, DNA, and fingerprints taken at a federal courthouse. She was transported to a federal detention facility where she was strip searched three times. And she spent the night locked in a cold cell without a blanket. Through it all, Penny again and again reiterated that she was Penny McCarthy, not Carole Rozak. But it did no good. 

The next day, Penny was transported back to the courthouse. A public defender told the court that Penny claimed she was not Carole Rozak. The prosecutor asked the judge for more time to get the results of fingerprint and DNA comparisons. The judge obliged, setting an identity hearing for the next month. The judge released Penny with certain orders, including to check in with the public defender each week. 

The federal government dismissed the proceedings against Penny, but the damage from her wrongful arrest and continued detention are long-lasting. She now fears being alone and taking her dog for a walk. She sold her home and moved out of the state, trying to escape the feelings of insecurity at her own home in Phoenix. She worries law enforcement officers will again mistake her for Carole Rozak. 

The officers violated Penny’s rights under Arizona law and the federal constitution. They violated the Fourth Amendment by holding her at gunpoint and patting her down without any basis to believe she was a criminal or armed and dangerous. The officers also arrested Penny without a reasonable basis to believe that she was Carole Rozak, in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. And the officers violated a host of Arizona laws. 

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 to hold the officers and the United States government accountable for their errors and to guard against this nightmare happening to someone else.