WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
St. Joseph County and St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are two of five defendants in a lawsuit filed by an Iosco County man.
Christopher L. Green, 47, of Tawas, filed the suit through a Southfield attorney stemming from an incident in May 2023 in northern Michigan.
According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Green was pulled over for an equipment violation. Authorities, however, mistook Green for a Three Rivers man by the same first, middle and last name, and with the same birthday of June 15. The two, however, were born 10 years apart.
The Three Rivers Christopher Green was wanted on a bench warrant for failure to appear.
The Tawas Christopher Green was held for two days in Iosco County Jail then transferred to St. Joseph County Jail in Centreville.
The lawsuit states St. Joseph County Jail employees declined his repeated requests to look up a photograph of the Three Rivers Christopher Green to confirm they had the wrong Christopher Green.
It is not clear how long Green was in the Centreville jail but he was eventually released after St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department authorities determined they, indeed, had the wrong man.
The suit includes claims of unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, gross negligence and infliction of emotional distress.
A court date and venue for the lawsuit has not yet been set.
Love how they keep saying not their fault because the men have the same birthdate. No they don’t. Being born in a different year, they share the same numerical birth DAY, not the same birth DATE. Two days and Iosco couldn’t figure it out so he gets to travel Michigan in chains to our crackerjack department where officers seem to suffer from the same affliction? Then they won’t say how long it took them to count 1 to 10? That is public record. Can’t wait to see how much this costs taxpayers.
How does the sheriff’s office get away with not saying how long they held this guy? They held him under arrest and at some point released him. That is public information.
” …unless your conviction has been set aside or expunged, your arrest record is deemed public information.”