The ACLU filed this lawsuit on behalf of Mercedes Archuleta, who was falsely arrested, strip-searched, and jailed on the basis of a groundless and wrongfully-obtained arrest warrant that accused her of a Lakewood ordinance violation with which she had no connection whatsoever.
The complaint asserts that a Lakewood detective, Michele Wagner, reviewed reports written by patrol officers about an incident that violated Lakewood’s harassment ordinance. The victim stated that the perpetrator’s name was “Mercedes Archuleta,” but the victim provided almost no additional information. A woman who matched the suspect’s general description is listed in the state’s criminal database as sometimes using that name. Instead of pursuing that lead, however, the Detective Wagner instead located the name of the ACLU’s client—who had no criminal record and had never been arrested—in a database of motor vehicle records. Detective Wagner, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, then obtained a warrant to arrest the ACLU’s client.
A state trooper found the erroneous warrant months later, when he stopped Ms. Archuleta’s husband for a minor traffic violation. The state trooper is named as a defendant for his alleged mistreatment of Ms. Archuleta during the arrest and transport to the Jefferson County Jail. Additional defendants are D.L. Mandelko--the jailer who booked Ms. Archuleta and conducted the strip search---as well as the Jefferson County Sheriff, who is responsible for the strip search policy that the ACLU contends is overly broad and violates the privacy rights of detainees.
The District Court rejected Wagner and Mandelko's bids for qualified immunity. In 2008, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity for Defendant Mandelko. Archuleta v. Wagner, 523 F.3d 1278 (10th Cir. 2008). The parties then entered into settlement negotiations. Ms. Archuleta received monetary compensation as part of a favorable settlement of the litigation.
ACLU news release:
- "ACLU lawyers file suit on behalf of innocent woman wrongfully arrested, jailed, and strip searched," ACLU News Release, October 17,2006
Media:
- "Breastfeeding Mom Arrested in Mistaken Identity," ABC News, August 26, 2005
- "Mom sues over arrest, search," The Denver Post, October 17, 2006
- "Lawsuit says nursing mom wrongly arrested, strip-searched," 9 News, October 17, 2006
- "Court denies deputy’s claim of immunity in strip search," The Denver Post, April 29, 2008
- "ACLU: Nursing mom wrongly jailed," Daily Camera, August 13, 2009
ACLU case number
2005-11
