By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-30 06:44:42 | Updated at 2024-10-30 09:16:42
3 hours ago
Terrifying body camera video showed the moment US Marshals arrested an innocent Arizona grandmother under the barrel of a gun after mistaking her for a completely different person.
The two-minute video, obtained by ABC15 after six months of hounding the federal government, showed rifle-wielding officers shouting commands at 66-year-old Penny McCarthy.
McCarthy was confused and frightened during the March 5 incident, not even aware at first that she was being pursued by US Marshals.
She told ABC15 after the fact: 'I truly felt like I was being kidnapped.'
The federal agents rolled up to McCarthy's Phoenix home with guns drawn and immediately told her to put her 'hands up!'
US Marshals are pictured arriving at Penny McCarthy's Phoenix home with their guns drawn. They tell her to get her hands up, shout commands at her and threaten her multiple times with violence
McCarthy is seen getting walked to a car with handcuffs on her
'We have an arrest warrant,' a federal agent is heard saying on the video.
'For me?' McCarthy responded.
'Yes. For you,' the officer said.
'Who am I?' she asked, seemingly wanting the officers to confirm that she was in fact the person they were looking to apprehend.
Multiple agents then screamed at her and gave her conflicting orders.
'Turn away. Turn around. Turn away. We'll discuss it later. Turn away. You're gonna get hit,' they said.
Later in the video, when she was still standing in her driveway, McCarthy expressed skepticism that the agents confronting her were law enforcement.
'Stop moving, stop looking back. Stop looking back!' one officer shouted.
McCarthy then made an unintelligible comment in which she said the word 'police.'
One of the Marshals respond: 'Ma'am, you see that we're the police.'
'How do I see that?' she asked.
McCarthy repeatedly asked the officers who they thought she was. A female marshal told her they believe she was Carole Ann Rozak, a wanted Oklahoma fugitive for parole violations
Carole Ann Rozak is pictured in a mugshot photo. Rozak was wanted for an outstanding parole violation from 1999
Recounting the experience during an interview, she explained that she wasn't simply going to believe they were police officers.
Once McCarthy was in handcuffs and being walked to the car, one of the Marshals finally told her who they believed they were arresting.
A female officer threw out the name of 70-year-old Carole Ann Rozak, a wanted Oklahoma fugitive for parole violations.
'That's not who I am,' McCarthy told them.
This didn't dissuade the Marshals from arresting her anyway, according to the video.
ABC15 first published a story on the dramatic mistake on April 4, roughly a month after McCarthy's wrongful arrest.
Ten days later, US Marshals admitted their error. This also came days after an Arizona federal judge dismissed the case against McCarthy, who spent time in prison over the mix-up.
According to the Deputy U.S. Marshal in Oklahoma, they first believed that Rozak's digital fingerprints matched McCarthy's. But after a full fingerprint analysis was done, this was debunked.
McCarthy did an interview with ABC15 following the wrongful arrest, where she had to hold back tears multiple times as she recounted the incident
Josh Kolsrud, a criminal defense attorney with experience as a federal prosecutor, was extremely alarmed by what happened to McCarthy
'They did nothing but treat me like crap and lie to me,' McCarthy said. 'Ever since this happened. Sorry, I am so disappointed in my government. It’s not funny.'
Rozak was wanted for an outstanding parole violation from 1999. All the crimes she served time for were non-violent in nature, but following her release, she failed to meet with any federal probation officer, according to court records.
Josh Kolsrud, a criminal defense attorney with experience as a federal prosecutor, was extremely alarmed by what happened to McCarthy.
'This case is concerning because of the manner in which Miss McCarthy was arrested,' he told ABC15.
'A textbook example of federal agencies not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.'
Kolsrud reviewed the body cam videos and concluded that the US Marshals used excessive force.
'Anybody watching this video can see that this was an aggressive arrest and aggressive apprehension,' he said. 'And it’s unreasonable on so many levels.'
Koslrud also questioned how agents made the arrest without being certain of McCarthy's identity.
'We expect law enforcement to have the capability and determination and the ethics to establish who somebody is when they arrest them. And in this case, they didn’t do that,' he added.
