A jury rejected a shopper’s contention that she was falsely arrested and imprisoned for obstructing a law enforcement officer, a charge that was later dismissed.
Monise Etienne, then 20, was at a Walgreens store in Naples when she claimed an assistant manager asked her to open her purse because he suspected her of shoplifting. Etienne claimed she had just paid for several items and was stopped as she walked toward the exit. She refused to allow her bag to be searched. Police searched her bag and found no store merchandise. Etienne’s counsel claimed the store could not produce surveillance video to prove she put merchandise in her purse.
