The LAPD arrested a woman at LAX only because her name was Bethany Farber — the same name as a woman with an arrest warrant in Texas. Although this Farber did not have a criminal record, had never even been to Texas, and was younger and looked nothing like the Texas Farber, she spent 13 days in jail because, as she alleges, the LAPD didn't bother to check her birthday, driver's license, social security number, or booking photo of the other Farber.
Now she is suing the city of Los Angeles, the LAPD and L.A. Airport Police, according to KTLA.
From KTLA:
Bethany Farber said she was at LAX last April, getting ready to travel to Mexico to see her brother and goddaughter, when she was detained, "aggressively interrogated about her identity" and taken into custody by the TSA due to an arrest warrant for a Bethany Farber in Texas. …
While she was in custody, Farber's grandmother suffered what her family described as a stress-induced stroke that ultimately led to the grandmother's death.
Farber says she now suffers from anxiety and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. She is seeking monetary compensation, but also calling for reforms within the judicial system.
"This has caused me a lot of distress in my life, a lot of anxiety. It has set me back financially. It's impacted my business," Farber said Tuesday outside Los Angeles Police Department headquarters. "There's a lot of people out there who this is happening to who don't have anyone advocating for them. They don't have their family fighting for them every day, and every day that they're in jail, wrongfully, their lives are being dismantled."
The LAPD had no comment for KTLA.
