Julie Hudson, a Ph.D. candidate in Philadelphia, has never visited Texas. The family of the Black woman also stated that she stays out of trouble. However, Hudson was arrested and jailed for days after being falsely accused of committing a robbery in Texas, according to Click2Houston.com.
“It’s very strange, and when our family found out, we were like, ‘no way, Julie would never,'” said the 31-year-cousin, old’s Kesha Warren. Following her false arrest, the Webster Police Department admitted that the warrant issued for her arrest was incorrect.
Hudson was arrested after she went to the police station to inquire about a warrant issued for her arrest in Texas. The Black woman is said to have learned about the warrant when she was unable to find work as a result of it.
“Julie went down to our local police department in Philadelphia thinking, ‘I’ll get to the bottom of it in person.’ And when she went there, of course, if you have a warrant out for your arrest, they have to arrest you,” Hudson’s sister, Charon, said.
Charon added that she later got to know her sister was falsely arrested in connection with a May shoplifting incident in Texas. “We were able to detain one of the people who matched one of the suspects in the video, she agreed to an interview, brought her back, and in the interview, she identified the other person as her sister by the name of Julie Hudson,” Assistant Chief of the Webster Police Department, Jeremy Edge, said.
Edge also stated that Hudson was the perpetrator after reviewing surveillance footage of the suspect and comparing it to the 31-year-social old’s media photos. “It went to a number of people, not just within our agency, but also within the district attorney’s office,” Edge explained.
Webster police eventually dropped the charges against Hudson after it was discovered that the Black woman was working in Pennsylvania at the time of the crime in Texas, according to Click2Houston.com.
And though Webster police issued an apology in the wake of the incident, Hudson’s family said they’re looking at taking legal action against the department. “We want to shed light on the situation, whether that be education for the department or whether that means more training,” Charon said.
“We commend the rapid response and coordination between the Police Department, Courts, District Attorney’s Office, and Department of Prisons to ensure that Julie Hudson was released as quickly and as safely as possible,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. “We are dismayed by the ordeal that she and her family went through due to an erroneous warrant from another jurisdiction, and thankful that she is now home.”
“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office became aware of Julie Hudson’s predicament last evening, thanks in part to media reports out of Houston and in Philly. I am not aware of any efforts by Texas authorities to contact my office directly about the misidentification of Ms. Hudson, which led to her arrest by Philadelphia Police on January 6 based on a fugitive warrant. Once the District Attorney’s Office independently became aware that Webster Police had confirmed to local media that they had wrongly sought Ms. Hudson for arrest, we mobilized quickly to make sure Ms. Hudson was released from custody as soon as possible,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also said in a statement.
“Julie Hudson is a Philadelphia resident who has no criminal record and is pursuing a Ph.D. What happened to her should not have happened, and her family deserves a great deal of credit for successfully advocating for her freedom with the media in Houston and in Philadelphia. I am also thankful for the quick action of our Charging Unit, led by Supervising ADA Amanda Hedrick; city Managing Director Tumar Alexander; the First Judicial District; Northwest Detectives; and Department of Prisons for effectuating Ms. Hudson’s release within a matter of hours. I am proud to lead a prosecutor’s office that works closely with law enforcement and the judiciary to ensure a rigorous process of approving arrest and search warrants,” Krasner added.
