What recourse do I have against the police for mistaken identity?
Full Question:
I was arrested when an officer entered my home, asked me my name, and said he knew me and had trouble with me before; which was a cover for his high position as a police officer. Anyway, the facts are, I have never been in any trouble with the law, he did not know me, and has not ever had trouble with me. Every record of mine will prove it, but I was arrested and thrown in jail for 24 hours for asking him to leave my house when he was mistaken and I asked him what rights do I have under the castle laws for this mistaken identity.
05/11/2009 |
Category: Criminal |
State: Texas |
#16644
Answer:
Please see the following Texas statutes to determine applicability:
§ 9.31 PENAL PENAL Self-Defense
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is justified in
using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably
believes the force is immediately necessary to protect the actor against
the other's use or attempted use of unlawful force. The actor's belief
that the force was immediately necessary as described by this
subsection is presumed to be reasonable if the actor:
(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the
force was used:
(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter
unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, or
place of business or employment;
(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was attempting to remove
unlawfully and with force, the actor from the actor's habitation,
vehicle, or place of business or employment; or
(C) was committing or attempting to commit aggravated kidnapping,
murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated
robbery;
(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force was used; and
(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity, other than a
Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating
traffic at the time the force was used.
(b) The use of force against another is not justified:
(1) in response to verbal provocation alone;
(2) to resist an arrest or search that the actor knows is being made
by a peace officer, or by a person acting in a peace officer's presence
and at his direction, even though the arrest or search is unlawful,
unless the resistance is justified under Subsection (c);
(3) if the actor consented to the exact force used or attempted by the
other;
(4) if the actor provoked the other's use or attempted use of unlawful
force, unless:
(A) the actor abandons the encounter, or clearly communicates to the
other his intent to do so reasonably believing he cannot safely abandon
the encounter; and
(B) the other nevertheless continues or attempts to use unlawful force
against the actor; or
(5) if the actor sought an explanation from or discussion with the
other person concerning the actor's differences with the other person
while the actor was:
(A) carrying a weapon in violation of Section 46.02; or
(B) possessing or transporting a weapon in violation of Section 46.05.
(c) The use of force to resist an arrest or search is justified:
(1) if, before the actor offers any resistance, the peace officer (or
person acting at his direction) uses or attempts to use greater force
than necessary to make the arrest or search; and
(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is
immediately necessary to protect himself against the peace officer's (or
other person's) use or attempted use of greater force than necessary.
(d) The use of deadly force is not justified under this
subchapter except as provided in Sections 9.32, 9.33, and 9.34.
(e) A person who has a right to be present at the location where the
force is used, who has not provoked the person against whom the force is
used, and who is not engaged in criminal activity at the time the force
is used is not required to retreat before using force as described by
this section.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (a), in determining whether an actor
described by Subsection (e) reasonably believed that the use of force was
necessary, a finder of fact may not consider whether the actor failed to
retreat.
§ 9.41 PENAL PENAL Protection of One's Own Property
(a) A person in lawful possession of land or tangible, movable property
is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the
actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent
or terminate the other's trespass on the land or unlawful interference
with the property.
(b) A person unlawfully dispossessed of land or tangible, movable
property by another is justified in using force against the other when and
to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately
necessary to reenter the land or recover the property if the actor uses
the force immediately or in fresh pursuit after the dispossession and:
(1) the actor reasonably believes the other had no claim of right
when he dispossessed the actor; or
(2) the other accomplished the dispossession by using force,
threat, or fraud against the actor.