Woman left ‘humiliated and degraded’ after being wrongly arrested leaving cruise ship in major mistake

A woman from Texas is suing police after a mistaken arrest left her 'humiliated and degraded' in jail over Christmas.

Jennifer Heath Box was with her husband on a cruise ship as she disembarked at a port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Christmas Eve in 2022.

The pair were planning to then fly home to Houston to spend Christmas with their children, including her son - a US Marine about to leave for a three-year deployment.

Instead, Box was arrested after leaving the ship and was forced to spend Christmas Day in jail.

Broward County Sheriff's Office has been accused of arresting the wrong woman, according to a lawsuit filed by Box.

Police thought Box was a woman 23 years younger than her - who also had different colour eyes, hair, and skin tone - that was wanted for felony child endangerment in Texas.

It turns out that the department accidentally put Box's face on the arrest warrant even though her middle and last name were different.

"I've never done anything to where I would find myself on the other side of bars," Box said at a press conference on Thursday (19 September).

Jennifer Heath Box was forced to spend Christmas in a jail cell (CBS)

"It was really difficult for me because I had to call my kids and tell them that I wasn't going to be there."

Box was released from custody on 27 December and called the whole thing 'humiliating' and 'degrading'.

She is now set to file a federal lawsuit against Broward County and the sheriff’s deputies over her arrest.

Bobbi Taylor, an attorney from the Institute for Justice, pointed out: "There were at least 10 differences between the woman on the warrant, Jennifer del Carmen Heath, and the woman standing with me today, Jennifer Heath Box, all of which should have been glaringly obvious to Broward County’s deputies."

Meanwhile, Broward County Sheriff's Office has appeared to blame Texas authorities for the situation.

Bodycam footage shows Box being taken to the police station (Institute for Justice)

The sheriff's office said in a statement: "On December 24, 2022, U. S. Customs and Border Patrol alerted a BSO deputy that a passenger exiting a cruise ship at Port Everglades had an outstanding warrant for her arrest on a charge of felony child endangerment.

"The BSO deputy [Peraza] followed the appropriate protocols in handling this matter, and after receiving confirmation of the Harris County warrant, arrested Ms. Box.

"Had it not been for the arrest warrant filed by the Harris County Sheriff's Office, Customs and Border Patrol would not have flagged Ms. Box, BSO would not have been notified and she would not have been arrested."

Box's attorney, Jared McClain, added: "At none of those red flags did anyone in Broward County stop and say, 'Maybe we're making a mistake here.

"Maybe we shouldn't put this woman in jail over Christmas.' So that's why we're here in Broward County."

LADbible has contacted Broward County Sheriff's Office and Harris County Sheriff's Office for comment.