A terrifying body camera video showed the moment US Marshals arrested an innocent Arizona grandmother at the barrel of a gun after mistaking her for a completely different person.
The two-minute video, obtained by ABC15 After six months of chasing the federal government, armed officers showed up warrants to 66-year-old Penny McCarthy.
McCarthy was confused and scared during the March 5 incident, and was initially unaware that she was being chased by U.S. Marshals.
She told ABC15 afterward, “I really felt like I was being kidnapped.”
The federal agents showed up at McCarthy’s Phoenix home with guns drawn and immediately told her to put her “hands up!”
The photo shows U.S. Marshals arriving at Penny McCarthy’s Phoenix home with guns drawn. They tell her to raise her hands, shout orders at her and threaten her with violence several times
McCarthy is seen being walked to a car in handcuffs
“We have a warrant for his arrest,” a federal agent is heard saying on the video.
“For me?” McCarthy responded.
‘Yes. For you,” the officer said.
‘Who am I?’ she asked, apparently wanting the officers to confirm that she was indeed the person they wanted to arrest.
Multiple officers then yelled at her and gave her conflicting commands.
‘Turn away. Turn around. Turn around. We will discuss it later. Turn around. You’re going to get hit, they said.
Later in the video, while still standing in her driveway, McCarthy expressed skepticism that the officers she confronted were law enforcement.
‘Stop moving, stop looking back. Don’t look back!’ an officer shouted.
McCarthy then made an unintelligible comment in which she said the word “police.”
One of the Marshals replies: ‘Ma’am, you can see that we are from the police.’
‘How do I see that?’ she asked.
McCarthy repeatedly asked the officers who they thought she was. A female marshal told her they thought she was Carole Ann Rozak, a wanted fugitive from Oklahoma for parole violation
Carole Ann Rozak is pictured in a mugshot photo. Rozak was wanted on an outstanding parole violation from 1999
During an interview, she talked about the experience and explained that she wouldn’t just believe that they were police officers.
Once McCarthy was handcuffed and walked to the car, one of the Marshals finally told her who they thought they were arresting.
A female officer threw out the name of 70-year-old Carole Ann Rozak, a wanted fugitive from Oklahoma on parole violations.
“That’s not who I am,” McCarthy told them.
This did not stop the Marshals from arresting her, according to the video.
ABC15 first published a story about the dramatic mistake on April 4, about a month after McCarthy’s wrongful arrest.
Ten days later, the US Marshals admitted their mistake. This also came days after a federal judge in Arizona dismissed the case against McCarthy, who had spent time in jail over the mix-up.
According to the deputy U.S. marshal in Oklahoma, they initially believed Rozak’s digital fingerprints matched McCarthy’s. But after a full fingerprint analysis was conducted, this was debunked.
McCarthy did an interview with ABC15 after the wrongful arrest, where she fought back tears several times as she recounted the incident
Josh Kolsrud, a criminal defense attorney with experience as a federal prosecutor, was extremely disturbed by what happened to McCarthy
“They did nothing but treat me like crap and lie to me,” McCarthy said. “Since this happened. Sorry, I’m so disappointed in my government. It’s not funny.’
Rozak was wanted on an open parole violation from 1999. All of the crimes for which she served time were non-violent in nature, but after her release she did not meet with any federal probation officers, according to court records.
Josh Kolsrud, a criminal defense attorney with experience as a federal prosecutor, was extremely disturbed by what happened to McCarthy.
“This case is concerning because of the manner in which Ms. McCarthy was arrested,” he told ABC15.
“A textbook example of federal agencies not doing what they should be doing.”
Kolsrud reviewed the bodycam videos and concluded that the U.S. Marshals used excessive force.
“Anyone who watches this video can see that this was an aggressive stop and detention,” he said. “And it’s unconscionable on so many levels.”
Koslrud also questioned how officers made the arrest without being sure of McCarthy’s identity.
“We expect law enforcement to have the capacity, determination and ethics to determine who someone is when they arrest them. And in this case they didn’t do that,” he added.