Fresno Fails to Defeat Homeless Man’s Lawsuit Over His Arrest

The city of Fresno, Calif., its mayor, and some local police officers must continue facing claims from a homeless man who alleges the city unlawfully initiated retaliatory criminal proceedings against him for objecting to his homeless encampment being dismantled.

Lewis Dewane Brown’s complaint sufficiently questions whether Fresno police officers had probable cause to arrest him, adequately alleges that the officers used excessive force against him under federal and state law, retaliatorily prosecuted him under federal law, placed him under false arrest, and subjected him to negligent conduct, Judge Jennifer L. Thurston said in an order on March 13. The US ...