PHILADELPHIA (WCAU) — Julie Hudson is home with her family after a nightmare of a week where mistaken identity in Texas resulted in her arrest in Philadelphia.
On Thursday, the city’s district attorney offered an apology on behalf of every agency involved and said this case highlights the need for more information sharing between jurisdictions.
It was an emotional reunion, after a week behind bars, as Julie Hudson was able to go home to her family early Thursday morning.
“I'm happy, I’m relieved, I had a lot of anxiety; I was scared, I didn't know what I was going to do, it felt like it wasn't going to end so I’m glad that it's over.”
But questions as to how and why she was jailed in the first place remain.
"I want to find out what happened, how this happened, never again, nobody should ever go through that, ever."
ON Thursday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner spoke out on the case of mistaken identity.
“As an institution, law enforcement owes you an apology. We ought to do better than to rely on your family in the media to be a notification process to get you out of jail six days later without your meds.”
The case started in Webster, Texas where police were investigating a shoplifting case.
They found a surveillance picture of the person they were looking for and got a name.
Then, through social media, they found Philadelphia’s Julie Hudson and somehow convinced a judge to issue a warrant for her arrest.
“I can tell you, based on this limited information we have, it's concerning, and I seriously hope and trust that Texas will take a serious look at what they did in this case.”
"When you know you didn't do anything wrong, it makes you feel crazy."
Julie's family never gave up on her, and by going to the news, they elevated her story to officials in Texas and in Philadelphia.
Texas dropped the charges against her, and she was ultimately freed.
“As soon as I saw the video footage of police in Texas, and they made a mistake there was no need for a phone call we we're where we needed to be."
The DA says Philadelphia police followed standard protocol but adds changes in info sharing between jurisdictions could help prevent or catch these mistakes sooner.
“If someone wants us to send someone back, which we will do under the retainer, there's nothing wrong with letting us read your affidavit, a probable cause; at least we would've picked up the phone and said, ‘you did what? Let me get this straight, you used social media to make an identification of someone you think has committed retail theft in Texas.’”
As for the family, they say they're focusing on making sure Julie is okay, but they don't rule out legal action in the future.
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