The Oakland Police Department placed Chau Van on its most wanted list and Van never knew why. But there he was on the news wanted as a violent criminal accused in an Oakland gang shooting.
Van has no criminal record except a drunk driving conviction in 2007. He went into the police station a week later hoping to clear his name, instead he was thrown into jail on a different charge, beating a man with a baseball bat, reports the SF Chronicle.
The charge was eventually dropped, but not until he spent three days in jail. He remained on the most wanted list for 6 more months and wasn’t removed until he sued.
“It changed my life,” Van, 37, said. His lawyers have now sued for defamation, civil rights violations and false arrest.
His lawyer John Burris put it this way. “Being on the most wanted list can get you killed,” Burris said.
You can read about how Van’s friends reacted to his most wanted status and more on what it did to his life in the SF Chronicle.
