Indiana sheriff’s deputies said they were acting on an “anonymous tip” when they entered a man’s property and arrested him in front of his children on a warrant last week.
Although the man, Michael Daniel Brock, insisted there was no warrant for his arrest, Marion County sheriff’s deputies ignored him, convinced they had the right man, forcing him to remain handcuffed in his driveway.
After all, they say, a random home remodeler down the street told them Brock was the man they were looking for.
They didn’t even bother comparing the information on his driver’s license to the information on the warrant which stated they were looking for a man named Michael Shane Brock with a different birthdate.
It wasn’t until Brock’s wife arrived home 45 minutes later and asked to see the warrant that they discovered they had the wrong man. But even then, they were not convinced at first, still insisting on transporting him to the Marion County jail where two inmates have been murdered this month.
According to FOX59:
“’This isn’t him. I can tell you,’” Albers remembers telling the deputies. ”And then the officer just kept telling me, ‘There’s something he’s not telling you. There’s something you’re missing.’
“I’m like, ‘There’s no way. There’s absolutely no way that this is him.’ And they guy just kept telling me, ‘Maybe there’s something that you don’t know.’”
In reality, maybe there was something the Marion County Sheriff’s deputies didn’t know.
An anonymous tip brought the Warrant Team to Brock’s front and back doors that morning.
“Both officers…the K9 officer and the officer who came in through the back gate…put hands on me, immediately put me in handcuffs and put shackles on me,” said Brock.
The deputies said they had a warrant for the arrest of Michael Brock on a probation violation for a methamphetamine conviction.
FOX59 news reporter Russ McQuaid managed to track down the real suspect in five minutes through a publicly listed address which was 20 minutes away and paid him a visit.
“Has the Marion County Sheriff ever come looking for you?” I asked.
“No,” said Michael S. Brock.
“How long have you been on the run from this probation violation?” I asked.
“February,” said Michael S. Brock.
“And in eight months, I’m the first guy who’s ever come looking for you?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Michael S. Brock.
Over the course of the next 15 minutes Michael S. Brock and I talked about the vagaries of the Marion County criminal justice system, how his own records are often in error, how he’s spent excessive time in jail after posting bond, how he’s been hiding in plain sight with his home address currently listed in public records and how he’s straightened out his life since violating probation last winter.
“I’m real sorry that other guy got arrested on my case,” said Michael S. Brock. “Tell him I apologize.”
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has not apologized, however, blaming the anonymous tipster down the street for the unlawful arrest.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office told FOX59 News that the deputies confirmed Brock’s identity by stopping a home remodeler down the street and asking him if his friend was at the house.
“The Marion County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip from Crimestoppers of a wanted subject,” read a statement emailed to FOX59 News. “The information included his home address and place of employment. The MCSO Warrant Team confirmed there was a wanted subject by that name and went to the location listed as his home address. They showed a picture of the wanted subject to a citizen working at the residence, who reported he was inside the home. Mr. Brock was placed in handcuffs.”
According to online records, Michael Shane Brock was taken into custody earlier today.
