PHOENIX — More than a year after U.S. Marshals falsely arrested a 68-year-old Arizona woman at gunpoint, she has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking accountability for what her attorney calls "unaccountable government."
Penny McCarthy was traumatized so badly by the March 2023 incident that she said she left Arizona and moved out of state.
"I'm very fearful all the time and very paranoid," McCarthy said. "I don't feel safe in Phoenix."
Body camera video obtained by ABC15 shows six armed U.S. Marshals surrounding McCarthy's Phoenix home with rifles drawn.
"Police don't move. Hands up! Hands up!" officers yelled as they approached her front door.
Records show the arrest warrant was for a 70-year-old Canadian woman named Carole Rozak on a two-decade-old parole violation for non-violent crimes in Oklahoma. McCarthy is not that person.
Body camera video shows arrest
"We have an arrest warrant," an officer said in the body camera footage.
"For me?" McCarthy asked.
"Yes. For you," the officer replied.
"Who am I?" McCarthy questioned.
Despite McCarthy's attempts to prove her identity, the video shows officers handcuffed her and took her into federal custody.
"You don't want to confirm who I am?" McCarthy said in the body camera video.
"Put your hands behind your back. We'll discuss this later," an officer responded.
A federal judge later dismissed the case against Penny. The U.S. Marshals Service admitted it made a mistake in arresting McCarthy.
Woman files federal lawsuit
Paul Avelar, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, now represents McCarthy in the federal lawsuit she filed against the U.S. Marshals Service.
"Penny's case is about unaccountable government," Avelar said. "We learned about Penny's situation through your reporting."
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The non-profit Institute for Justice took McCarthy's case after ABC15 Investigators aired multiple reports exposing serious failures by U.S. Marshals.
"These sorts of mistaken identities happen with too much frequency," Avelar said.
The 79-page civil rights lawsuit accuses marshals of failing "to run basic checks on Penny's identity."
The body camera video shows officers eventually told McCarthy the name on the warrant.
"Carol Rozak," the officer said.
"That's not who I am," McCarthy replied.
"Penny McCarthy," the officer continued.
"Yes, yes, but I've never been Carol Rozak. I can prove who I am," McCarthy said.
The lawsuit claims no disciplinary actions have been taken against any officer, no internal policies have changed, and no other corrective action has been taken.
"Penny doesn't want this to happen to anyone else. What happened to Penny shouldn't happen to anyone," Avelar said.
McCarthy said she continues fighting because the incident was wrong.
"It's so unbelievably wrong. And I am not the only person this happens to," McCarthy said.
U.S. lawmakers called for a federal probe in direct response to ABC15's reporting and sent a letter to the Department of Justice late last year.
"This is as wrong as it gets," said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. "We've asked the inspector general to dig into this and get us all the facts on how they screwed up and got the wrong individual, and then why they treated this lady so wrong."
Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs also signed the letter.
"We've got to tighten this ship up. I mean, this can't go on," Biggs said.
The Department of Justice began its probe into McCarthy's case last December. ABC15 has been told the investigation could take up to a year to complete, and federal agents have already interviewed McCarthy.
For McCarthy, she says the lawsuit is about finding out how marshals got it so wrong.
"I don't care if I don't get a dime. I'm not signing any non-disclosure agreement. I need to know how this happened and why this happened," McCarthy said.
The U.S. Marshals Service says it is aware of the pending lawsuit and "it is our policy not to comment on ongoing litigation."
