Stalter v. State

— This case requires us to determine if a

county has a duty to confirm the identity of a person detained in its jail under authority of an arrest warrant after the detainee claims misidentification. Kevin Stalter and David Brooks each made this claim, and they allege that Pierce County failed to respond. After their eventual release, they each sued the County, asserting, inter alia, false imprisonment. The trial court dismissed their claims on summary judgment.

We hold that once a county is on notice that a detainee in its custody may not be the person described in the relevant arrest warrant,…