We’re led to believe that if we lead a law-abiding life and mind our ps and qs, we’ll never find ourselves on the wrong side of a jail cell.

It can be jarring to realize that isn’t true, and I can’t imagine what it’s like when the realization comes firsthand, like it did for this man.

He was arrested at work one day and charged with multiple felonies – without any warning at all.

Back in November 2018 I was arrested at work in front of my boss and co-workers. It was the most humiliating thing I’ve ever experienced.

I later learned at the police station that I was being charged with multiple felonies. This came as a huge surprise.

Luckily I was able to keep my wits and lawyer up instead of speaking with the detective.

It took all of his savings and almost two months in jail before his lawyer could prove he was nowhere near the scene of the crimes on the day they took place.

For $13,000 which completely wiped my savings, I was able to retain a criminal defense attorney. However it cost me everything and I was unable to pay my bond.

This resulted in me staying in jail for a total of 54 days. At a status hearing, my attorney presented video evidence of me gassing up my car 3 hours away from where the crimes took place and I ended up having all my charges dismissed.

He also lost custody of his son to the state and had to fight to get him back upon his release.

When I finally got out I learned that I had lost my job, was in the process of being evicted, and my son was in the state’s care. His mother is a heroine addict and I haven’t spoken to my own parents in nearly 15 years.

They wouldn’t let him go to my girlfriend because they didn’t consider her family.

Since he was told he couldn’t sue the police department, OP put up a website detailing his story and calling out the local detective for his shoddy work.

Since my release, I’ve learned that I can’t sue the police and no one gives a hoot that I was locked up for 54 days because the detective did poor investigation work.

I’ve gone to the local press about this and was told that what happened to me happens quite a bit. They took down my info but never followed up.

So what I did was create a website sharing my story. I also uploaded the police report and some other documents from the discovery.

Literally the only reason why I was arrested was because an eye witness said they saw me. If the detective had done his job, he could have verified that I wasn’t even in town on the day the crimes took place.

This is what angers me the most. My life was ruined because of a lazy cop.

Since he lives in a fairly small tourist town, this has earned him a visit from the police department, a half-hearted apology, and a cease and desist letter in an attempt to get him to take it down.

I’m writing this now because my website is now ranked #2 on the first page of search results when you type in my town’s name. I live in a touristy town and we attract a lot of visitors over the summer.

My web traffic has more than quadrupled, and apparently it’s gotten someone high up’s attention. I received a cease and desist letter recently, which I showed to my attorney.

He said sharing my experience online isn’t illegal and that everything I had stated was a fact or my own opinion, protecting me from a defamation lawsuit.

He’s refused unless they come up with everything they’ve cost him – and it’s hard to put a number on that.

Yesterday I received a visit from two officers and the detective who had arrested me. He apologized, stating “mistakes can happen.” They then talked to me about my website and asked if I could remove it.

I said I would delete it on the condition that the detective leave his job and never do police work again. Suffice to say that isn’t happening.

He also feels like he’s doing it a little bit for revenge, though, and thinks maybe that’s wrong.

After the visit I received, I’m more angry that the only reason the detective apologized to me was to get me to take down my website.

I don’t plan to and the only one supporting this is my girlfriend. My friends think I’m being spiteful and have suggested that I just delete it.

AITA for keeping my website up?

Does Reddit think so? I’m genuinely curious, so let’s read on!

The top comment – along with many others – think OP should ask for money.

This CPS investigator agrees that much more suffering went on.

This lawyer says he should hold out for some cash, but not to go crazy.

Because there’s no way they could actually make this right.

Absolutely no one feels for the detective.

I honestly don’t understand how the police can get away with this.

It’s absolutely shameful.