Whitehead v. Bond

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying plaintiff's motion for judgment as matter of law in section 1983 action alleging false arrest after jury had rendered verdict in favor of defendants-police officials. While various police officials gave inconsistent statements regarding incident involving plaintiffs' son that led to defendants' restraining plaintiff in squad car for 20-minute period, jury could properly credit testimonies of certain defendants who indicated that plaintiff became belligerent and acted aggressively towards arresting officers. Moreover, Dist. Ct. did not err in admitting evidence of misconduct by plaintiff's son and others that occurred prior to plaintiff's arrival at arrest scene since said evidence was relevant to give context to actions taken by plaintiff, arresting officers and sizable crowd that had gathered at arrest scene. Also, while Dist. Ct. may have erred in admitting evidence of crack cocaine found in son's car, any error was harmless where jury was told that case was solely about actions taken by plaintiff and defendants.