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Woman sues Florida sheriff after mistaken arrest lands her in jail on Christmas

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Woman sues Florida sheriff after mistaken arrest lands her in jail on Christmas
News

News

Woman sues Florida sheriff after mistaken arrest lands her in jail on Christmas

2024-09-20 04:06 Last Updated At:04:12

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Jennifer Heath Box had few worries as she exited her cruise ship at Fort Lauderdale’s port on Christmas Eve 2022.

The Texan and her husband had spent six days at sea celebrating with her brother, a Georgia police officer who had just completed cancer treatment. In two hours the couple had a flight home to Houston, where they would spend Christmas with their Marine son, who was leaving for a three-year deployment in Japan, and two other adult children.

But according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Thursday by Box against the Broward County Sheriff's Office, its deputies wrongly arrested her as she disembarked and then jailed her for three days, subjecting her to a body cavity search and blasting her cell with death metal music and freezing air.

Deputies accused the 50-year-old financial systems administrator of being a much younger woman with a similar name who was wanted in Harris County, Texas, for felony child endangerment. Harris County had mistakenly put Box's photo on its warrant, but none of the other information matched.

“I’ve never done anything to where I would find myself on the other side of bars," Box said at a Thursday press conference near Port Everglades, Florida. "It was really difficult for me because I had to call my kids and tell them that I wasn’t going to be there” for Christmas.

Box said while being booked, a male inmate tried to enter her cell several times, which she called “terrifying.” She said even after Harris County told Broward they had the wrong woman in custody, she wasn’t released for another day and missed her son's departure.

“It was humiliating, degrading,” Box said of her treatment.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Thursday saying while it “sympathizes” with Box, the department and deputies Peter Peraza and Monica Jean did nothing wrong. It blames the situation on its Texas counterparts.

“The BSO deputy (Peraza) followed the appropriate protocols in handling this matter, and after receiving confirmation of the Harris County warrant, arrested Ms. Box,” the statement said. “Had it not been for the arrest warrant filed by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Customs and Border Patrol would not have flagged Ms. Box, BSO would not have been notified and she would not have been arrested.”

The groundwork for Box’s mistaken arrest was laid when she boarded the ship nearly a week earlier. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol conducts background checks on cruise passengers and matched her to the Harris County warrant. When her ship returned, she was already targeted for arrest.

Border Patrol officers stopped Box after she scanned her ID to leave the ship and summoned Peraza and Jean.

While it was Box's photo on the warrant, she and her attorneys say the deputies and later their supervisors refused to acknowledge several obvious discrepancies. Box’s middle and last name were not the same as those on the warrant. She is also 23 years older and 5 inches (13 centimeters) taller than the real suspect and has different colored eyes, hair and skin tone.

Charges against the real suspect were dropped days later by Harris County prosecutors, who called the case “weak.”

Box's attorney, Jared McClain of the nonprofit Institute for Justice, said they aren't suing Harris County because it simply had one employee make a mistake. He said Broward sheriff's officials, on the other hand, repeatedly refused to look at the evidence and work to correct a mistaken arrest that should have been obvious, even when contacted by Box's police officer brother.

“At none of those red flags did anyone in Broward County stop and say, ‘Maybe we’re making a mistake here. Maybe we shouldn’t put this woman in jail over Christmas.’ So that’s why we’re here in Broward County,” McClain said.

The lawsuit does not seek a specific monetary amount, but McClain said the arrest cost Box and her family thousands of dollars in additional hotel and legal costs.

Body camera video shows that Box, wearing a sweatshirt reading “Santa Baby,” and her husband are flabbergasted when told she is being arrested, but they remain calm. In return, the deputies never get physical with her or raise their voices.

Box tried to point out the warrant's discrepancies, but Peraza pointed to the matching photo and said he had to arrest her. Box removed her jewelry, handed it to her husband and then put her hands behind her back to be cuffed as passersby watched.

After Box was placed in Peraza's patrol car, the deputy again seemed to study the warrant. He opened the door, asked Box again for her full name, which she provides. She points out that both “Jennifer” and “Heath” are common names. He slowly closes the door as he again reads the warrant, but then drives her to jail.

Box says even though the jail was extremely cold, she was given a thin jail uniform while the guards wore stocking caps, heavy jackets and gloves. She said she and her cellmate slept together back-to-back to keep warm.

Finally, a day after she says Broward learned of Harris County's mistake, she was released. She said she expected an apology, but none was given.

Instead, she says, she was told “stuff happens.”

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Associated Press writer Ken Miller in Edmond, Oklahoma, contributed to this report.

Jennifer Heath Box, standing with attorneys Bobbi Taylor, center, and Jared McClain, speaks following a news conference under the 17th Street Causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, about the time she spent in the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Jennifer Heath Box, standing with attorneys Bobbi Taylor, center, and Jared McClain, speaks following a news conference under the 17th Street Causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, about the time she spent in the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Jennifer Heath Box speaks during a news conference under the 17th Street Causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, about the time she spent in the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Jennifer Heath Box speaks during a news conference under the 17th Street Causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, about the time she spent in the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Attorney Jared McClain, standing with Jennifer Heath Box, left, and attorney Bobbi Taylor, following a news conference under the 17th Street Causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, about the time she spent in the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Attorney Jared McClain, standing with Jennifer Heath Box, left, and attorney Bobbi Taylor, following a news conference under the 17th Street Causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, about the time she spent in the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

SAO PAULO (AP) — Red Bull's Max Verstappen will start Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix from 17th position as he fights McLaren's Lando Norris for the Formula One drivers' championship. Qualifying at Interlagos is still under way, but slowed due to two red flags as rain continues to fall in Sao Paulo.

The second leg of qualifying was cancelled with Verstappen in 12th position after Aston Martin's Lance Stroll crashed.

The Dutchman failed to advance to the the final part of qualifying and will have to add a five-place grid punishment after changing his engine for the sixth time this season, exceeding the maximum allowance of four.

Sergio Perez, the second Red Bull driver, also failed to reach the final third of qualifying, and clocked the 13th fastest time.

Qualifying started in low grip conditions at 7:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT), and two red flags were shown after crashes by Stroll and Williams Franco Colapinto. The start of the Grand Prix was brought forward from 2 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (1530 GMT). All drivers started off on wet tires, but moved to intermediates as the qualifying went on.

Many drivers arrived at Interlagos around 6 a.m. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. took the time to serve coffee for team staffers as they prepared for qualifying.

Organizers said qualifying on Sunday had only happened five times in F1 history and a German driver has secured pole position on every occasion. The most recent was at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel starting from the front.

The FIA announced qualifying had been postponed Saturday after a two-hour delay, with no cars having the chance to clock any laps. It said in a statement that the decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain, "with a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit which renders conditions unsafe."

Many of the more than 60,000 fans that came to Interlagos on Saturday did not appear for qualifying Sunday morning.

The gap between Norris and Verstappen, with four grands prix and a final sprint race to the end of the season, is now 44 points. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also has a long shot at the title.

Organizers are yet to decide whether the tribute to legendary three-time champion Ayrton Senna will take place on Sunday. The late Brazilian's title-winning McLaren is scheduled to be driven by one of his biggest fans, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands walks on the track after the sprint race ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix auto race at the Interlagos racetrack in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands walks on the track after the sprint race ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix auto race at the Interlagos racetrack in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, left, talks with Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, left, talks with Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

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