Burglary Victim Gets Arrested for Using N-Word

In summer of 2004, a Pennsylvania woman was robbed and beaten but that did not stop the Camden police detective from arresting her.

A Pennsylvania burglary victim was handcuffed, arrested and jailed after she allegedly made racial slurs against the assailants who left her robbed and soaked in blood in June 2004. Kimberly Halpin, who lived in Bucks County, didn’t behave well enough, or so Camden Detective Maurice Gibson, who has served as a police officer for 16 years, thought. The detective made claims that the victim made racial slurs and used the n-word to describe the perpetrators however, Halpin denied the allegations. According to Det. Gibson, “she cried too much, was irate, cursed, and then twice used the "N-word" in describing the two assailants who took her backpack, purse, car keys, money, and cell phone Halpin, who is now a substance abuse councillor, sued the Camden police department for a false arrest and the trial was laid forth in front of United States District Judge Renee Bumb. The jury came to the conclusion that the detective fabricated the information published to arrest Halpin. The jury awarded the 32-year-old Halpin with $1 in compensation and $100 in punitive damages and concluded that Gibson acted “maliciously.” Her attorney insisted that she did not seek a reward but to be acknowledged that she was falsely arrested.