New police body camera video shows fake arrest in mistaken identity case

PHOENIX — A dramatic video highlights a key mistake by the U.S. Marshals Service, who took action to mistakenly arrest a Valley grandmother at gunpoint earlier this year.

The two-minute video shows the moment six US marshals armed with rifles mistakenly arrested 66-year-old Penny McCarthy.

“Ever since this happened. I’m sorry, I’m so disappointed in my government. It’s not funny,” Penny told ABC15, choking back tears.

It took more than six months for the federal government to release body camera video to the public.

“We have an arrest warrant,” a federal agent says in the video.

“For me?” replies Penny.

“Yes. For you,” the officer says.

“Who am I?” asks Penny.

Multiple agents then yell at Penny: “Back up. Turn around. Turn around. We’ll discuss this later. Stand back. You’ll be shot.”

Penny had no idea why federal agents were there or how they could get a warrant for her arrest.

“I really felt like I was kidnapped,” Penny told ABC15 in response to what happened.

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ABC15 obtained the videos through a federal Freedom of Information Act request.

“Don’t you want to verify who I am?” Penny asks the officers again in the body camera video.

The officer shouts back: “Put your hands behind your back. We will discuss this later.”

“This makes me even more angry than before,” Penny said in an interview with ABC15 after watching the video.

When federal agents arrested and detained McCarthy in March, he insisted he was looking for Oklahoma fugitive Carole Anne Rozak, 70. US Marshals Service later admitted it made a mistake days later ABC15’s Investigation.

Who is Carole Anne Rozak?

One Arizona Federal judge later dismissed He dropped the case against McCarthy and canceled the pending identification hearing.

Federal agents identified McCarthy as Rozak, now a 70-year-old woman wanted since 1999 on an outstanding parole violation warrant in Oklahoma. Rozak was sentenced to prison for all non-violent crimes. But he did not report to any federal probation officers after his release from federal custody in Harris County, Texas, according to federal court records.

McCarthy provided extensive documentation ABC15 he wasn’t RozakOklahoma was looking for a fugitive.

“I was never Carole Anne Rozak”

ABC15 showed the body camera videos to Penny, who said they were “Abuse of power. Period.”

Although Penny repeatedly asked the officers if they wanted to verify her identity and was told they would discuss it later, Penny said they never discussed it afterward.

“I never discussed it afterwards,” Penny said.

“If you ever turn around again. You’re getting excited. You got me,” a federal agent later told Penny in the body camera video.

“They’ve done nothing but treat me like shit and lie,” Penny said in response to the video.

But it’s not until Penny is handcuffed that U.S. Marshals finally tell her who they think they’ve arrested: wanted fugitive Carole Anne Rozak.

Former federal prosecutor reviewed body camera video

Josh Kolsrud is a criminal defense attorney with years of experience as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“This case is concerning because of the manner in which Ms. McCarthy was arrested,” he said. “It’s a textbook example of federal agencies not doing what they’re supposed to do.”

ABC15 asked Kolsrud to review the videos and evidence in Penny’s case.

“It’s very impressive to watch,” Kolsrud said. “And it’s scary that this could happen in America.”

Koslrud believes the videos show Phoenix U.S. Marshals using excessive force.

“Anyone who watches this video can see that this was a invasive arrest and a invasive arrest,” he said. “And it’s counterintuitive in so many ways.”

Koslrud also questioned how federal agents made the arrest without fully confirming Penny’s identity.

“We expect law enforcement to have the capacity, determination and ethical values ​​to identify someone when they arrest them. “And in this case, they didn’t do that.”

US Marshals Service response

ABC15 repeatedly asked the U.S. Marshals Service for its views on the body camera videos, but the agency did not respond by our deadline.

“USMS continues to thoroughly review the actions taken by Deputy U.S. Marshals in connection with the fugitive investigation of Carole Anne Rozak and the subsequent false arrest of Penny McCarthy,” the agency said in an earlier statement.

However, the federal government has not yet provided an update on the status of that review.

The only public accountability ABC15 finds for the apparent disconnect between Penny and Carole comes from court audio the day after Carole was taken into custody, in which a federal judge also questions why Penny was arrested.

The federal prosecutor said his arrest was strictly based on information obtained from the probation office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, including “Facebook posts”… “information in a pre-sentencing report created in 1999″… and… “some aliases.” he said.

Insufficient evidence to proceed to trial.

Judge releases McCarthy at first hearing identity hearing awaited He would have to prove that he was not Rozak. case dismissed before that hearing took place.

The fingerprint analysis in question

like we do previously reportedMcCarthy’s fingerprints were taken when federal officers first detained him in Arizona.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Oklahoma, where the cold case investigation that led to McCarthy’s arrest was conducted, initially said some sort of “glitch” appeared to indicate that McCarthy’s digital fingerprints matched.

According to the audio recording, the federal prosecutor told a different story at McCarthy’s first hearing, a day after his arrest.

A full fingerprint analysis confirmed what Penny knew all along. HE fingerprints did not match Rozak and federal agents arrested and detained the wrong person.

“US police officers are above the law. That’s what he tells me. And the U.S. government is allowing this to happen,” Penny said.

This entire ordeal caused Penny to question the government’s power and lack of accountability.

“This is a terrible system,” he said.