Raleigh man files civil rights complaint against police over mistaken arrest
A Raleigh man filed a federal civil rights complaint Monday against the Raleigh Police Department, alleging bias and mistreatment in a 2016 arrest that turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Rashon McNeil said police stopped him on East Martin Street on Dec. 1, 2016, threw him to the ground and arrested him. Officers were looking for "Lamar," he said, and they charged him with trespassing and resisting arrest even though he wasn't the person they sought.
"I complied with all conduct of what officers was asking. I complied with it to the point where I was cuffed, slammed on the ground and still was not even acknowledged of who I really was," McNeil said Monday.
A judge later dropped the charges against him.
McNeil filed a complaint with the police department over the officers' actions, but an internal investigation found no officer misconduct.
Not finding his justice locally, he wants the U.S. Department of Justice to look into the case.
"I want the officers to take responsibility for their actions because they are still walking around with this badge and they assume it's OK to unlawfully go around and pick and choose who they want to single out," he said.
McNeil has been in trouble with the law before, including being charged with murder and attempted armed robbery in a 2009 shooting on Martin Street. The murder charge was later dropped, but he served almost six years in prison for the attempted robbery, according to state Department of Public Safety records.
He said his criminal record has nothing to do with his wrongful arrest in 2016.
The Raleigh Police Department declined to comment on McNeil's complaint, but John Midgette, executive director of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, said a mistaken arrest doesn't warrant a federal investigation.
"Officers making mistakes in the course of doing their duties does not constitute abuse of power," Midgette said. "I believe this is a national trend, or people are reinventing the law."
Various advocacy groups have joined McNeil in filing the federal complaint.
"We want explanations. Our community deserves that," said Dawn Blagrove, director of the Carolina Justice Policy Center.
"We already have the fear of [police] approaching us at this point. We've lost so many. said Rolanda Byrd, whose son, Akiel Denkins, was shot and killed by a Raleigh Police officer trying to arrest him in February 2016.
McNeil and the advocates said they also want a review of possible racial bias in arrests in Raleigh and the formation of an official community oversight board.
