Philadelphia Jury Awards $10 Million to Man Jailed More Than Three Years on False Police Charges

On the night of January 22, 2011, Khanefah Boozer was the designated driver for a group of friends returning from a bar in Germantown. As the group approached a friend's house, one of the passengers in a lead car, Bruno Rosales, fired a handgun into the air. Boozer, who had no weapon and played no part in the shooting, scolded Rosales and drove away.

Officer Ryan Waltman stopped Boozer and accused him of being the one who had fired at police. No gun was ever recovered. Investigators found no shell casings, no ballistic evidence, and no corroborating witnesses placing a weapon in Boozer's hands. Boozer told officers at the scene that Rosales had fired the shots and provided his name, but police never followed up. Boozer was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, and related offenses.

Unable to pay 10 percent of a $500,000 bail, Boozer remained in custody from January 2011 through the fall of 2014, roughly three years and eight months. During that time, his mother and sister both died. When his criminal case finally went to trial, Rosales took the stand and confirmed that he had fired the gun. The jury acquitted Boozer of every charge on September 18, 2014.

Boozer then filed a civil lawsuit against Waltman. Robert J. Levant, of counsel at Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig, represented him at trial. The civil jury found Waltman liable for malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, and civil conspiracy, concluding that Waltman had 'maliciously caused a criminal proceeding to be commenced and continued against Boozer.' On May 10, 2018, the jury returned a verdict of $5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

The $10 million total was described at the time as the largest civil verdict against a single Philadelphia police officer in the city's history. The City of Philadelphia announced it was reviewing the verdict and considering an appeal. Under Pennsylvania law, municipalities are not required to pay punitive damage awards, meaning the punitive portion faced a separate legal hurdle to collection. Waltman remained employed by the Philadelphia Police Department, earning approximately $75,000 in annual salary, at the time the verdict was entered.