Californian aesthetician sues LAPD after she was misidentified, wrongly arrested and spent TWO weeks in jail where ‘human feces were thrown around’ and she ‘had to put hot food underneath her clothing to keep warm’
- Bethany K. Farber was about to board a Delta flight to Puerto Escondido, Mexico
- Was detained by TSA officers at Los Angeles International Airport last year
- She was arrested by police and held at Lynwood Women’s Jail for 13 days
- Ms Farber says she was wrongly arrested and mistaken for another woman
A woman has launched a lawsuit against Los Angeles Police Department after claiming a case of mistaken identity left her in prison for 13 days.
Bethany K. Farber, from Calabasas, California, was about to board a Delta flight to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, to visit family when she was detained by TSA officers at Los Angeles International Airport in April last year.
Officers said they had a warrant for Ms Farber’s arrest in Texas and escorted her to a private room where she was handcuffed to a chair.
The aesthetician was soon arrested by police, who did not check her driver’s license or confirm her identity, and held at Lynwood Women’s Jail for 13 days, the lawsuit alleges.
Bethany K. Farber (right), from Calabasas, California, is suing the LAPD, the Los Angeles Airport Police and the City of Los Angeles for what she says was a wrongful arrest after she was kept in prison for 13 days. She claims the police mistook her for a woman with the same name who had an arrest warrant (left)
Ms Farber is now suing the LAPD, the Los Angeles Airport Police and the City of Los Angeles for what she says was a wrongful arrest and claims the police mistook her for a woman with the same name who had an arrest warrant.
Ms Farber told KTLA-TV: ‘It was absolutely terrifying. I was shocked. It just kept getting worse.
‘They arrested me for a state wide fugitive warrant. I kept saying that they had the wrong person and to double check and they just said no we have it.’
Ms Farber claims she told officers they had the wrong person but they took her to Lynwood Women’s Jail.
She continued: ‘Immediately all I could think is I’ve never been to Texas…. I started to get upset, realizing that it was all actually happening.’
Ms Farber spent 13 days in prison as her family and friends worked tirelessly to prove the police had the wrong woman.
Ms Farber was about to board a Delta flight to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, to visit family when she was detained by TSA officers
Ms Farber’s attorney Rodney Diggs (left with Ms Farber) said police should have checked the birth dates, checked fingerprints and checked social security numbers
The aesthetician was arrested by police at Los Angeles International Airport (picture is a GV of the airport)
She claims during this time she saw human feces thrown around and had to put hot food underneath her clothes in an effort to keep warm, CBS News reports.
After she was released, the aesthetician was informed by her mother that her grandmother had died following a stress-induced stroke.
Ms Farber’s attorney Rodney Diggs told Fox 11: ‘They could have checked the birth dates, checked fingerprints, checked social security number. Ms Farber had her passport on her at the time.’
He added: ‘That says that the system is flawed somewhere. The fact that there’s no procedures, no protocol.’
Ms Farber is now suing the authorities for $2.5 million for emotional distress.
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