False Accusation of theft?

Question

Ok, so i live in a 3 story house. We live in the first floor. This person buzzed everyone saying he lost his iphone and he was able to track it in our place, we said to call the cops. Hours later, the cops came and they went out on me. Just because I'm the only 20 year old guy (the people living in the 2nd and 3rd floors are in their 40s), they are pinning it on me. The line of questioning by the officer seems to imply that I have this asshole's iphone. He told me, "i'm giving you a chance to give it to me or we'll bring you to jail." First of all, I was home all the time. My mom can vouch for me and we even had a visitor too. I woke up at 2 in the afternoon since I don't start my spring semester until January 30. Secondly, the only time I had to go outside was to buy something at the corner store which didn't even last for 5 minutes. I'm so pissed because they seem to accuse me right away, just because I'm the only guy at my age. I have a sister aged 11 at that time the person buzzed the first time. My other sister, 16 y/o, just got home by the time the police arrived. What should I do should the police officer arrest me? Can i sue for false accusation? I'm innocent, I don't have a criminal record, never been suspended in high school, I never even had a parking ticket. I felt like my reputation is damaged.

Zach · Accepted Answer

You have no damages at this point to recoup in a lawsuit. While you're free to sue the accuser, you'd be throwing your money away. 

If the police arrest you, which its doubtful they will, they will have evidence adopting you stole the phone. You'd have to prove gross negligence on the part of the police. That won't happen.

Roger H · Answer

So, why didn't you help the guy find his iPhone? Your refusal was suspicious and you should have expected a negative reaction. You are perfectly within your rights to be uncooperative, but don't get indignant when the cop acts like you could be hiding something.

Did you ever look for the phone or have the guy dial his number to see if it's somewhere on the premises? Like many 20 year olds, your lack of maturity gets you into trouble, so use this as an object lesson. Go back and think about how you could have handled this situation differently so that you won't put yourself in such a situation again.

friend · Answer

Remind the cop that he is not a judge and has no right to intimidate you or coerce you into saying something so that he can have someone to arrest. Think of cops like pent up dogs; they just need the slightest reason to bite- like a blink or a sneeze. A regular citizen would get locked up for such armed bullying.

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False Accusation of theft?

3 Answers