Wrongful Arrest?

math is hard for cops...

i'd say you have a case, and at the very least, should get your tow fee refunded.

srry, that sucks.

Did you get an apology?

Did you have to pay to get your car out of impound?

>> because the cop read the breathalyzer wrong. The reading was .008, but he read it as .08

Is this all documented?

How much time from when you were "arrested" until your release?

awful, sorry for your troubles.

Were you formally arrested, or just detained?

>>> more like a "you got lucky this time" kinda vibe.

fuck those guys.  getting hassled by incompetent cops isn't what i consider  'getting lucky'.

We're you arrested on suspicion of DUI, or DUI?

Its hard to beat a town, a state, a govt agency, or the police department in a legal case...and, in the cases ppl do win..most of the time , its not justified penalties for your "pain" etc...

They def fucked up...but, if it was me, and i got my towing paid for etc...id prob wash my hands of it, but, i would at least call a cpl lawyers to get their quick 5-10 minute opinion over phone...

And, yes, id call more than one to  get a "consensus" etc...if they think you got a case, maybe id reconsider...after i considered their financial motives as well...

Good luck...

(They should at least give you one free "get out of jail " card, for future use...;)   )

Get all the documentation you can.

Not sure the type of town, or its law enforcement, but if you spend time in this town you may want to let it go. A lawsuit would be like painting a big ol target on your car. You were inconvenienced, and lost time. Were you prevented from getting to work, or did you incure any type of financial loss? 

You certainly have a case, but whether or not you can win it is the question.  Like Jambone said, it's pretty hard to win a case against law enforcement.  Talk to a lawyer and see what your chances are.

will you have an arrest record??

i would defintely contact an attorney or two and get their opinion

>when they realized they screwed up, they wrote me another ticket for a minor traffic violation <

um, FUCK those guys.

the police dept must have a video of the traffic stop. how much time went by before they realized the error ? 4 hrs? is that when they wrote the additional ticket ? 4 hrs later?

0.008%:

Did you sniff a shot of schnapps or something?

Is it possible you did get lucky, and they let you off easy because you are nice to be around?  " Oh look, I must have read the readout wrong..."

if you drink one 5% beer after an hour at your weight your bac will be near zero. so that reading seems about right

cops suck, but this guy really sucks

you obviously were not impaired given your reading so why did the cop ask you to submit to a breatherlyzer test? did he give you a field test also? seems like a dickhead.

Did the police officer ask if you had been drinking?

My guess is that it will be documented as a traffic stop for the stop sign, and you were arrested on suspicion of DUI. 

^and itll be thrown out...no record..."nollied"..no record of arrest...thats what you want

It will come down to whether the cop had "probable cause" to arrest you.   

Here is a summary of typical claims against bad cops for misconduct and what you have to proove.  

http://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/police-misconduct-a...

I don't handle police misconduct claims, but an attorney in my office specializes in that stuff, so I can ask him when he gets back in.  

You really ought to locate an ambitious Attorney and have a Lawsuit filed.  Give said attorney a percentage;  get wealthier. 

They were unlawful and it's all documented.  You were doing everything correctly and had your Rights violated.

Go cash in and set the record straight.

Count your losses and walk away.  The attorney fees and time spent aren't worth a possible financial outcome.  

they wrote me another ticket for a minor traffic violation (stop sign)<<<

If that happened to me I would go for it. Call Saul.

i would call an attorney just to ascertain that you will not have an arrest record goin forward.the rest is gravy.

Unless there is some kind of consent decree in your town, it may not be worth it unless you are super motivated just because fuck those guys (which I would applaud).  CA, like most states, makes it very hard to sue a public entity, especially the cops  Plus any attorney will be looking at the damages and aside from the mental anguish the money evaluation of damages may not be that high--making it less likely that attorneys will want to take this on unless you can find a real crusader.  It may well cost more to litigate than the return, especially if it is mere negligence and not more egregious police misconduct.  Its worth talking to someone anyway--maybe Pacifica or this cop have an ongoing habit of this and standing orders are in place or there is some streamlined local process in place or you find a guy who just wants the experience.  There have also been some clinics out there who assist people in filing police misconduct cases in small claims court.  Again, that will take up a good deal of your time, and if it as it was when I was more knowledgeable about this, the cops have a right to challenge your win in real court and then you need an attorney and there goes your victory money.  At the very least though, you should contact the station and make a formal complaint that goes in the cops personnel file.  This means that future defendants may be able to get to it if he makes mistakes that have greater consequences, and it will be a reminder to him to be more careful.  You may be able to apply for a Finding of Factual Innocence if you want the arrest sealed, but you may be creating a record of it where there was none if you didn't get booked into jail.  Also, it will cost you time and maybe money.

This is strictly anecdotal info that I picked up 20 years ago when a family friend was working at a police misconduct clinic, so many grains of salt and all that.

If you intend to continue living in the area I would let it go. If you sue the cops you will be on their radar forever.

No financial loss, including no missed work?  4 hours and released? 

And you think you won the lottery?  Haha, good luck with that!

Could have been way worse.  Glad you're okay.

Do talk with an attorney.

I ran your fact pattern by a colleague who specializes in bad cop cases.   He says you probably have a case because there was no probable cause for you to be arrested. Specifically, no reasonable cop would read a .0088 BAC reading as .088.  Therefore, they likely violated your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. 

As for the value of the claim, he said he couldn't say because he does not know California juries or how well you would present in court.  However, he guessed that if it was up here, the case would be in the $20,000 - $30,000 range.  As for fees, because there was a violation of your Constitutional rights, you are entitled to an award of attorney fees under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fee Award Act of 1976 .  That should make the claim more enticing for an attorney to take on a contingency fee basis.

Here in Suffolk County's busy court system. The Judge would look at the obvious technical error and throw the case out, before you could get to comfortable.

Next.

My freind is a SC Judge here and that's how he rolls.

Good luck. My friend is a criminal defense attorney. 

One thing i know from our conversations is that everything is against you. 

Meant to write "too comfortable".

If what you are saying in your OP is fact; you very well know, you have nothing to worry about and need not to contact an attorney at all.

PS- You can't sue any of the Poilice Depts in the north east. Don't ever drink or drug and drive.

Friend says possible case. But they can arrest on probable cause. So if they had probable cause maybe not.