Boose v. City of Rochester

In June 1975, Miguel Pabon was assaulted by a woman. Pabon complained to police officers of the City of Rochester (defendant) and led the officers to the woman’s house. At the house, Pabon identified his assailant, a woman who appeared to be 18 or 19 years old. The woman told the officers her name was Gloria Jean Boosey. The officers were not sure whether they should believe her. There were many other people nearby who appeared to be hostile to the police officers; rather than risk a confrontation, the police officers left. The officers did not complete their investigation. Several months later, in October 1975, a warrant was issued, charging a Gloria Jean Booth with obstruction. A second incident occurred in August 1975. Anthony Kasper was assaulted by two women, one was about 40 years old, the other was between 14 and 17 years old. Kasper identified the older woman, Ossie Boose, as his assailant. In October 1975, a warrant was issued for this incident, charging a Jane Doe Booze with assault. The officers assumed that the younger woman, who appeared to be 14 to 15 years old in Kasper’s assault, was the same 18- or 19-year-old woman who answered the door after Pabon’s assault. The officer obtaining the warrants was not sure whether Gloria Jean Boose was the person he wanted or even whether Gloria Jean Boose had committed any crime. The actual Gloria Jean Boose (plaintiff) was 23 years old, working for Eastman Kodak, and going to college part-time. Boose appeared at the police station in response to the warrants and was booked, fingerprinted, and held until the end of the day, when she was released on her own recognizance. Based on the lack of identification testimony, the charges against Boose were dropped. Boose sued the City of Rochester for malicious prosecution, negligence, and false imprisonment. The trial court dismissed the malicious-prosecution claim and allowed the negligence and false-imprisonment claims to go to the jury. The jury returned a verdict against the City of Rochester for $6,000. The City of Rochester appealed.