A TikToker claimed that a case of mistaken identity led to his false arrest and imprisonment for “like 30 days.”
In a series of two videos, TikToker Peyton (@pvanny_) lays out exactly what he says happened and his plans for retribution.
The video that kicks off this saga is a joke, introducing what he claims occurred before asking, “What’s up with this whole Laurel vs. Yanni thing?”
The video currently has over 173,000 views.
@pvanny_ ♬ original sound – Peyton Vanest
When users pressed Peyton for a follow-up about what led to his arrest, he complied, recounting what he describes as being “literally in hell.”
This video has over 2 million views.
@pvanny_ Replying to @shelbygdixon its definitely still ACAB #acab #OverwatchMe #andGO #fyp ♬ original sound – Peyton Vanest
In summary, Peyton says he was stopped by police because they claimed he looked like a suspect in a robbery case. Peyton says he spoke with the cops and admitted he did look like the suspect but noted he could not have performed the robbery as he was at an audition on the night of the crime.
To back this up, Peyton offered to show the video of his audition to the police as well as put them in touch with the people conducting the audition.
Peyton says the police seemed agreeable but still requested to take him to the station to “figure it out.”
“Yeah, we didn’t figure it out. At all, actually,” Peyton says. “They ended up taking me to county jail, and I was there illegally for, like, 30 days with a bond of $10,000.”
Peyton says he cannot reveal more about the case as he is currently pursuing legal action against the police department.
“I am going to be suing them. Oh, absolutely I’m going to be suing them. The fuck out of them,” he declares.
“Its definitely still ACAB,” he adds in the caption.
In the comments section, users noted this as another reason to never speak with the police.
“That’s why I’m telling my kid. Never. Talk. To. The. Cops. Without. A. Lawyer,” shared a user.
“All those copaganda shows made us think that if we didn’t do anything wrong we don’t have anything to worry about but sadly that’s not true,” added another.
“I am a lawyer. I won’t talk to a cop about me without my own lawyer there,” claimed a third.
“The police are never on our side- I’m glad you’re suing but to anybody else, NEVER agree. Lawyer up IMMEDIATELY,” stated a fourth.
Mistaken identity is a cause for a surprising amount of arrests. In February, a Los Angeles woman named Bethany Farber was arrested at LAX “for a statewide fugitive warrant in Texas”; Farber had never been to Texas. Nevertheless, she was locked up for two weeks before the police eventually realized their mistake and let her go. She is now suing the LAPD, per NPR.
Similarly, in 2020, a 23-year-old Black man in Las Vegas named Shane Lee Brown was arrested after officers noted the similarity between his name and one of a man wanted on weapons charges. Brown was then held in custody for nearly a week. However, the man the police were actually looking for was 51 years old, named Shane Neal Brown, and was white, per ABC affiliate KKTV. Shane Lee Brown was awarded $90,000 for the error.
Back on TikTok, users are encouraging Peyton to pursue a lawsuit to the best of his ability.
As one user put it, “sue. sue up and down for everything.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Peyton via Instagram direct message.
