Suit: Feds Used Excessive Force, Falsely Arrested Man
CHICAGO (STMW) - A federal lawsuit was filed Friday by a Chicago man claiming that federal agents used excessive force when he was falsely arrested and mistaken for a Colorado man.
Jose Quiroz claims that he was at home April 19, 2009 with his wife and four-year-old son when federal agent Robert Hall and other unknown officers from the FBI and ATF came to his door with guns drawn, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.
The agents searched and did not find any narcotics in the home and were looking for a man nicknamed "Chu" who had tattoos on his back, according to the suit. The agents had recordings of telephone conversations from an out-of-state location implicating "Chu," who lived in Colorado, in illegal activities, the suit said.
The suit claims that Quiroz never used the nickname "Chu," doesn't not have tattoos on his back, and never lived or visited Colorado. He has lived in and worked as construction worker employed by the city of Chicago for nine years. Quiroz was working at the time the recorded telephone calls occurred and it was not Quiroz's voice on the telephone recordings, according to the suit.
Quiroz was arrested, indicted and criminally prosecuted, according to the suit. Drug conspiracy charges were dismissed against Quiroz on Nov. 1, 2010.
The five-count also claims conspiracy and malicious prosecution. The suit seeks a jury trial, unspecified damages, attorneys' fees and court costs.
FBI spokesman Ross Rice said the agency has not yet reviewed the lawsuit and could not provide comment Friday evening.
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