A man was mistakenly arrested by police after a fight at a bar in Tokyo on Tuesday morning.
Police said the bar owner called 110 at around 1:30 a.m. and said there was a fight between two customers at his bar in Edogawa Ward, TV Asahi reported.
When police officers arrived, they learned that a customer in his 30s who had been assaulted outside the bar, was taken to hospital. They questioned the manager about the dispute and arrested a male customer in his 50s who was in the bar on suspicion of assault.
Later, when police interviewed another bar employee, they found that the person who committed the assault had different physical characteristics from the man who had been arrested. After checking with the victim when he was released from the hospital, police realized they had arrested the wrong man.
The arrested man was released after about two hours and an apology was issued.
A Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson commented, "We are very sorry and apologize to the man who was mistakenly arrested.”
Police said they are trying to identify the person who actually carried out the assault.
© Japan Today
19 Comments
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Yubaru
Sorry, not enough. They should at least have the courtesy to pay his bar tab AND give him enough cash for another night out or two!
Oh and regarding the "official" apology, was it printed in the newspaper and was there a press conference broadcast on TV? Doubt it. More like a quick bow, if that, and hey you shouldnt have been there in the first place!
Jay
Agreed. Mistakenly arresting an innocent man and then thinking a half-hearted "sorry" will cut it? That's 2 hours of his life he will never get back. What’s next - arresting a guy for jaywalking because he looked suspiciously like someone who might think about crossing on a red?
Hey, keystone cops - how about doing your job properly for once instead of playing Guess Who? with people's freedom.
BertieWooster
He's lucky he didn't get 48 hours in the slammer unable to contact anyone, and no lawyer.
lordoflys
Drinking in any bar, in any city, after 1:30am is an invitation for bad things to happen. Just sayin'.
Hawk
Abysmal. They didn't question any witnesses? Check any camera footage? Wasted time on the wrong guy while the real attacker makes an escape?
And they guy was attacked outside the bar but they arrested the fellow inside the bar? If I knew any lawyers, I'd have them on speed dial.
bass4funk
J-cops are itching for some chaotic action, overhyped or not, they don’t have anything else to do but sit in the Koban all day. Ever notice when there’s a police stop you have 4-8 patrol cars investigating what one squad car can do. As previously stated, what a waste of resources and taxpayer money.
Zaphod
lordoflys
Is there anything that changes miraculously after 1:30? Curious.
falseflagsteve
What a terribly queer affair! Well, I’d be ruddy cross if that happened to me.
リッチ
Wow normally after a few minutes they can always get a confession. How the bar allowed him to get arrested in the first place. Was racial profiling involved.
Mr Kipling
It may well have been a mistake or perhaps the "accused" has some connections? Could someone have had a word with the barman? Allegedly of course.
GuruMick
English teacher mistake....mix up verbs and adverbs.
Cop mistake...arrest wrong person.
Easy to criticise from a high horse.
People, even cops, get it wrong sometimes.
CaptDingleheimer
Japanese policing is improving.
20 years ago, the mistakenly arrested man would’ve had to confess to a lesser charge so that the police could save face.
CaptDingleheimer
If you consider your chances of maneuvering a one-night stand improving by about 250% a “bad” thing..
iron man
Zaph
Is there anything that changes miraculously after 1:30? Curious.
Sure it is about the time that the semi-sensible drinkers (often on a social night) decide to clear the tab, jump in a taxi, or rev up the shanks -pony and hit the pillow ready for the next day.
Hawk
The stakes are a little different though. Present perfect and present perfect progressive vs violation of human rights. The cops should have done better.
GuruMick
Cops make mistakes...if not malicious intent then forgivable....except in cases where some person is falsely convicted of murder...recent news
Hawk
Sure. You get marked incorrect one mark on a test, you get detained by police for two hours, or your country gets invaded by an imperialistic power. You might shrug all of those off, but I'd be a lot more concerned about the latter two. And it wasn't a mistake. It was professionally negligent.
Abe234
That must have been scary! Especially if you’re misidentified, and they try to force a confession out of you. I bet he goes away have a different perspective on people who claim to be innocent and are arrested. Now, what happened to the real culprit?
Yubaru
And get nailed for drunk driving when they drive off to work, because there is still plenty of alcohol in their system!