A man, who Flagstaff Police say was wrongfully accused and arrested during “Operation Riptide,” has hired civil rights attorneys and they are looking into legal action. Tremayne Nez was arrested on June 18th at his home on a warrant on drug charges. He was in jail for 30 hours before his family posted bail. On Wednesday, Flagstaff Police issued a statement, apologizing to Nez saying he had been “incorrectly identified as having sold drugs.” Southwest Center for Equal Justice attorney Gary Pearlmutter says Treymane was accused of selling LSD to an informant in April. He also says the person authorities were looking for was named “Trevor.” According to police, the person they were looking for that night was arrested on Wednesday for the charges Nez was arrested for. His name is Trey Store. Flagstaff Police say the arrest has been removed from Tremayne’s record locally and they have submitted a request to DPS to have his arrest cleared from state records. Police say “anytime they become aware of a situation where a mistake is made, it’s immediately address and it was in this case.” “Operation Riptide” netted 35 arrests, with suspects linked to drug trafficking. The operation was conducted by Flagstaff Police, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and agents from the DEA, ATF and the FBI.
To watch the entire press conference from today, head over to the KAFF News Facebook Page.
