Florida cops arrested Black man for ‘stealing’ his own car: lawsuit

On Wednesday, the Miami New Times reported that Samuel Scott Jr. is filing a lawsuit for an incident in 2018 in which he was arrested for “stealing” his own car.

Samuel Scott Jr. alleges that the officers unlawfully searched, falsely imprisoned, and maliciously prosecuted him after he reported his car stolen in June 2018.

He's seeking $500,000 in damages. https://t.co/MxP9VDtCNB

— Alex DeLuca (@AlexLDeLuca) November 17, 2021

“Scott is suing the City of Miami and the five officers — Jonathan Guzman, Michael Bloom, Brandon Williams, Miguel Hernandez, and Randy Carriel — alleging that they unlawfully searched, falsely imprisoned, and maliciously prosecuted him on that day in June of 2018,” reported Alex Deluca. “Scott’s attorney, Faudlin Pierre, tells New Times his client is seeking $500,000 in damages.”

The problem started when Scott called the police to report his Jeep Compass stolen — only for the responding officers to arrest him as the perpetrator instead of the victim.

“‘I’m telling you, you guys have the wrong guy,” Scott — a Black man wearing a dark-colored shirt over a white undershirt at the time — can be seen telling an officer in body-worn camera footage obtained by New Times,” said the report. “‘The description of the guy who took off in your car is just like yours,’ the officer responds. ‘But that’s half of Miami,’ Scott says.”

According to the report, “Scott was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, false reporting of a crime, failure to carry a concealed-weapon license, and possession of marijuana — charges that were eventually dropped by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.”

The lawsuit comes amid a series of high-profile cases shining a spotlight onto police interactions with people of color — most notably the murder of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis Police officer