Attorney files for false imprisonment after being arrested for refusing to show ID

Readers familiar with the Prosser Torts textbook might remember Enright v Groves, the case used in the book to illustrate the concept of false arrest. In that case, an officer of the law arrested a woman when she refused to show him an ID after he had spotted her walking a dog without a leash. Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun published a similar story. In this instance, a lawyer arrived at a courthouse about 20 minutes before closing time to file some documents in the clerk's office. In a hurry, he refused to show an ID to a police officer who was serving as courthouse security guard. He was arrested, left in a hot police car until he vomited, and transported to the police station where he was cuffed to a basement pipe. The charges were later dropped and he has now filed a $700,000 lawsuit claiming false arrest, false imprisonment and assault. Go here for the full story. Interestingly, the story says the officer said the plaintiff did not look "lawyerly." I wonder if that is a tacit admission that officials only ask people who have a certain "look" for IDs. Wouldn't that be a good question to ask during discovery? Someone should tell this guy to stop talking to the press.