Jury awards woman $30K for false imprisonment in Anoka County

Thursday, a federal jury awarded a woman $30,000 in damages for being falsely imprisoned by Anoka County and its sheriff.

According to the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (MN-ACLU), a virtual jury delivered the verdict Thursday in Myriam Parada’s favor.

“I’m so proud of being part of this lawsuit and getting rid of this policy,” Parada said. “I didn’t want to see this happen to anyone else. I’m so thankful to everyone.”

The ACLU-MN had sued the county jail and sheriff on Parada’s behalf after she was rear-ended while driving her siblings home in July 2017 and a police officer jailed Parada while letting the other driving go. The ACLU-MN said the jail held Parada for several hours so it could turn her over to ICE.

“This verdict sends a powerful message that our jails are committing false imprisonment when they unlawfully hold people for [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” ACLU-MN attorney Ian Bratlie said. “We hope it gives jail officials incentive to respect the U.S. Constitution and the rights of people, regardless of where they are born.”