In New York, a private person or a police officer commits the tort of false imprisonment or false arrest when they detain someone without legal authority. For claims of false arrest, the statute of limitations begins to run "when the alleged false imprisonment ends." Wallace, 549 U.S. at 389. Michael King was arrested on April 22, 1999 on the corner of 29th Avenue and Gilmore Street in Queens County, New York. For an arrest to be considered wrongful, law enforcement must have acted without cause or beyond the scope of their powers. Below is an example. Gerry Thomas spent nearly 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. And while Mr. Thomas, who was exonerated in Detroit on Jan. An unlawful arrest, also called a false arrest, is the act of holding an individual in custody without them having committed a crime and without probable cause. " Source and Authority.