Story Created:
Feb 9, 2010 at 7:25 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Feb 9, 2010 at 7:33 PM CDT
(February 9, 2010)
ROCKPORT--A Rockport man said he plans to file a lawsuit after he's mistakenly arrested. The warrant was for fishing without a license. During the arrest, this 68-year-old retired police officer said he was roughed up by officers and suffered a severe back injury.
The man said the arrest happened more than two months ago at his home in Rockport. He told officers they had the wrong person, but they still put him in cuffs.
"It's painful,"that's how Loyd Garcia describes the pain he suffered from his November 30th arrest.
A deputy walked up to his front door, saying they had a warrant for the 68-year-old man. They threw the former military and police officer in the back of a cruiser.
Then when he got to the jail, authorities realized he was the wrong person, apologized, but the damage was done.
"It is embarassing and it's happened several times where somebody refers to me as a jailbird," said Garcia."I told the deputy they had the wrong man and there is an age difference he the other Loyd Garcia and me. He is 15 years younger than me."
Garcia must now walk with cane and suffered a crushed vertabrae for his time in the back of the cruiser. He's being given pain pills and injections because he can't have surgery due to a heart condition.
The vietnam veteran also suffers war flashbacks from his time in cuffs and is seeing a psychiatrist.
The Aransas County Sheriff wouldn't comment on the lawsuit. Garcia plans to sue the county for pain and suffering for what he says was a case of mistaken identity.
--Manuel De La Rosa, Area 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com
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