California Probation Officers Face False Arrest Class Action

A recent false arrest class action lawsuit claims that California probation officers violated First and Fourth Amendment rights with unlawful detainment.

Plaintiff Douglas Okun was reportedly visited by parole agent Arnold Nelson in May 2019. Nelson was allegedly responsible for conducting a probation search of Okun’s home.

During the search, the class action says Nelson found a magazine published by Reader’s Digest called Reminisce. The magazine reportedly contained clothed images of children, prompting Nelson to consult with probation officer Robert Macias. Macias allegedly stated that “the magazine violated the terms of Plaintiff’s probation without seeing the magazine.”

The false arrest class action lawsuit claims that based on this decision, Nelson determined that Okun should be taken into custody and relayed that information to officer Brad Hogan. Okun was reportedly taken into custody and remained detained for 16 days. He claims that this arrest was unlawful and unfounded.

In July 2019, a probation violation hearing reportedly determined that Okun had not violated his probation.

“At the hearing Defendant Macias admitted he never told Plaintiff that possessing a published magazine aimed toward elderly persons which contained fully clothed photos of minors violated the terms of his probation,” the false arrest class action lawsuit claims.

“The court found that the photos of children in the magazine were neither sexually stimulating or sexually oriented.”

Okun subsequently filed his false arrest class action lawsuit against Nelson, Macias, chief probation officer James Salio, the San Luis Obispo Probation Office, and the County of San Luis Obispo.

The plaintiff claims that his false arrest and custody detainment was in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizure and the right to free speech.

“One or more of the Defendants have unjustifiably deprived Plaintiff of his liberty by unlawfully and maliciously arresting him without probable cause in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” the false arrest class action argues.

“As a proximate result of the acts of Defendants, and each of them, as herein alleged, Plaintiff and members of the Plaintiff class was compelled to expend money all to their damage in an amount according to proof.”

Okun also claims that his false arrest caused him injury in the form of “damage to their reputation and shame, humiliation and embarrassment in the community.”

According to the false arrest class action, other people may have experienced the same violation of constitutional rights – prompting Okun to represent a proposed Class.

Okun seeks to represent a Class of individuals who have been “falsely arrested for possessing visual material which is innocuous but falsely and recklessly considered sexually stimulating by the [San Luis Obispo Police Department].”

Were you wrongly arrested? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Okun and the proposed Class are represented by Bruce W. Nickerson and Jeffery R. Stein of Stein-Conway Law Firm PC.

The False Arrest Class Action Lawsuit is Okun v. County of San Luis Obispo, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00178-PA-GJS, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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