Nebraska Man Jailed for Days Seeks Payment from County

A Nebraska man who says he lost his job after being wrongly jailed for three days is seeking $50,000 from Hall County.

Heriberto Sanchez was jailed Jan. 1 after a Grand Island police officer suspected he was drunk and placed him in civil protective custody, his attorney, Mark Porto, told the Grand Island Independent. Police never accused Sanchez of any criminal violation, and he was not charged with a crime, Porto said.

Sanchez is a U.S. citizen and presented four forms of identification, but was told by officers that the ID likely were fakes, Porto said. Sanchez was held for three days, costing him his meatpacking job.

If no action or settlement is made in Sanchez’s claim within six months, he can sue under Nebraska law.

Porto declined to comment further Tuesday when contacted by The Associated Press.

An assistant for the Hall County Board of Supervisors said Tuesday that the claim had been received by the board and will be turned over the county’s insurer for consideration.

The board’s acting chairwoman, Pam Lancaster, was in a meeting Tuesday and could not immediately return a message seeking comment.