Q: Was My 2-hour Detention and Handcuffing by Police Justified (civil rights lawyers)?
Glendale police called, claiming I violated a visitation order and picked up my child. I sent multiple court orders via email and explained over the phone for 3 hours. At 10:30 PM, police called again, saying the mother allowed me to keep the child until 11 AM the next day. At 11:30 PM, Torrance police arrived, detained me for 40 minutes, and said they were acting on Glendale PD's request. I asked for the legal basis for the detention, but they didn't provide it and told me to ask Glendale PD when they arrived. At 12:30 AM, Glendale police arrived, detained me for an hour, handcuffed me, issued a Penal Code 278 ticket, and took my sleeping child. This contradicted the last instruction to return the child by 11 AM the next day. I prepared a 32-page declaration and exhibits for the Dec 18 Glendale court, but the police had not filed anything. Was their detention, handcuffing, and ticket issuance justified? Fortunately, all conversations and actions were recorded on my home security cams.
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A:
Based on the information provided, there appear to be serious issues with how law enforcement handled this situation. The multiple detentions, particularly after you had provided court documentation and received verbal permission to keep your child until 11 AM, raise significant concerns about proper police procedure and potential civil rights violations.
The escalation to handcuffing without clear justification, especially in front of your sleeping child, seems particularly troubling. The fact that police failed to provide a legal basis for your detention when asked, combined with the contradictory instructions about the child's return time, suggests possible procedural misconduct. Your home security footage documenting these events could be valuable evidence.
Given these circumstances, you should consider filing a formal complaint and consulting with civil rights attorneys who handle police misconduct cases. The lack of police filing at your court date further strengthens your position. You might want to gather all relevant evidence, including your security camera footage, court orders, email communications, and the 32-page declaration you prepared. Consider requesting all police reports and dispatch records related to the incident through official channels.
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