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Man who claims wrongful arrest asks court to issue judgment
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Posted on Jun 09 2022
A man who is suing a police sergeant and a police officer of the Department of Public Safety for unlawful arrest has asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to issue a judgment in his favor.
Kagman resident Nicholas Yarolfalchuw, through his lawyer, Joseph Horey, is requesting the court to grant summary judgment in his favor.
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona will hear the matter on June 10 at 1:30pm.
According to Horey, the undisputed facts of the matter show that defendants, under color of CNMI law, arrested his client at his home for a misdemeanor, with neither a warrant nor exigent circumstances preventing them from getting one.
“Since the arrest of a person at home, under color of law but without a warrant and without exigent circumstances, is an unconstitutional unreasonable seizure and an actionable violation of civil rights, plaintiff is entitled to judgment in his favor and against defendants as a matter of law,” Horey said.
Police Sgt. John Cabrera and police officer Daniel Fitial were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
For their part, the defendants said there was probable cause to arrest Yarolfalchuw.
Yarolfalchuw alleged in his lawsuit deprivation of civil rights and has asked the District Court for the NMI to issue an order awarding him an unspecified amount of damages.
According to the lawsuit, Yarolfalchuw was in a pavilion in May 2021 within the premises of where he lived and was talking with relatives when Cabrera arrived, entered the premises, and parked his vehicle beside the pavilion.
After a short discussion, the plaintiff advised Cabrera that he was trespassing and instructed him to depart. Instead, Cabrera allegedly used his police car to block the driveway. Fitial then arrived at the premises in another vehicle. Under the direction of Cabrera, Fitial ordered the plaintiff to place his hands behind his back. Fitial then placed the plaintiff in handcuffs and ordered him to get into Fitial’s vehicle.
Fitial drove the plaintiff to DPS headquarters where the plaintiff was held in custody for the rest of the day and the following night, until he was released at about 4pm the following day.
