SJ Drunk Arrests Leads to Lawsuit
Thursday, Jan 15, 2009 | Updated 7:00 AM PDT
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If slumping tax collections on beer, wine and liquor are any indication, Connecticut residents are becoming teetotalers.
San Jose's police chief and the city are being sued over the number of arrests for public drunkenness made in the city.
Two Watsonville men have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis and the city, alleging they were arrested for public drunkenness last June even though they had not been drinking.
In their suit filed Wednesday, Francisco Valdez and Ricardo Vasquez allege they are among thousands of minorities falsely arrested in San Jose on public drunkenness charges.
The lawsuit comes after the Mercury News reported San Jose police have arrested more people on suspicion of public drunkenness in recent years than any other department in the state, and that 57 percent of those arrested are Hispanic.
The city has 20 days to respond to the suit.
