Woman Wins Appeal Over Broken Leg, Arrest Due To Mistaken ID

DEARBORN HEIGHTS (AP) - A 66-year-old Detroit-area woman suffered a broken leg during an arrest and spent five days in jail -- all in a case of mistaken identity.

Mary Jane Gross' lawsuit against Dearborn Heights was revived Tuesday by an appeals court, about 20 months after a federal judge ruled in the city's favor and dismissed the case.

Gross says her civil rights were violated in 2012 when police arrived at her home, based on a drug-trafficking warrant from Kentucky. She insisted they had the wrong person.

Gross, now 69, broke a leg during a struggle in the kitchen.

Dearborn Heights claims no rights were violated. But the appeals court says Judge Victoria Roberts erred in dismissing the lawsuit, noting that video and audio "do little or nothing" to refute the allegations.

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