Watch this. A man tells police they've made a mistake and 2 weeks later he's still sitting in jail. He says he's not a felon. The system says he is and nobody stops to check. This starts with a background check. A Florida man legally allowed to own a firearm tries to make a purchase but the system flags him as a convicted felon. The problem? Years earlier that charge had already been reduced to a misdemeanor. But that update never made it into the database. Soon after deputies pull him over. They run his name and the system tells them he's a felon in possession of a firearm. I can't believe this is this is happening. Body camera video shows Michael Brewer in March of 2025 pleading with Martin County deputies not to arrest him. It says I'm a convicted Yeah, in your background it it it does. Deputies have pulled Brewer over believing he was a felon in possession of a firearm. >> They asked me immediately about firearms. I told them I did have a firearm in my work bag. I was taken out of the vehicle. I was handcuffed and I was told that I was under arrest as a a felon in possession of a firearm. But here's where everything starts to fall apart. He tells them clearly, "I'm not a felon." He explains the charge was reduced, that the record is wrong. It doesn't matter because in that moment the deputies aren't relying on him. They're relying on the database. And based on that he's arrested. Charged as a felon. And taken to jail. >> I'm not a felon. I'm real I have a real estate license. I have a concealed carry license. I have a gated The investigation started days earlier when Brewer went to a local gun store. Surveillance video from Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach shows him trying to buy a gun. Brewer says he put down a deposit and filled out paperwork for a background check. >> I went home and got a call and was told it was denied and I didn't know why. I went back and got my refund. I went about my day. I said I would look into it another time. >> That failed background check was flagged by FDLE alerting the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Deputies believed Brewer was a felon trying to buy a gun but Brewer and his attorney said that was not true. The confusion came from the FBI's NCIC database used nationwide to check criminal records. Brewer's record showed a felony arrest in Kentucky over a decade ago. The court documents confirm the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor but that update was not reflected in NCIC. >> No, I said, you know, this it's got to be a mistake and I'm sure they hear that from everybody but I mean I was adamant. Days go by then more days. He's sitting in jail waiting for someone, anyone to verify what he's been saying the entire time. But instead of checking immediately they wait for paperwork, for certified records, for the system to catch up. 14 days, two full weeks behind bars for something that was never true. The State Attorney's Office cannot show me NCIC records directly but told me they, FDLE and MCSO all saw the same NCIC record regarding the Kentucky arrest reading severity felony disposition guilty. So Brewer spent 14 days in jail. >> I thought my life was over. While his attorney Andrew Strecker worked to prove otherwise. We were able to prove show original documents, you know, establishing that Mr. Brewer was not a felon. And even after proving he wasn't a felon they still didn't fully let him go. Because when he finally gets out he's still treated like one. Placed under restrictions. Still dealing with the fallout from a charge that shouldn't have existed. >> The remedy that we were offered was to reduce the monetary bond and to release him on an ankle monitor. >> So I'm dealing with clients and my ankle monitor was going off constantly. It's making noises. >> Affecting his job and reputation. >> People are going to make up their own assumptions. They're going to say to themselves, "Well, he had to have done something if it went if it went that far." But Assistant State Attorney Kristen Chase says prosecutors needed certified official records which can take time. I can understand the defendant's frustration but at the same time the system did exactly what it was supposed to do. As soon as we were alerted to the issue we agreed to a bond reduction so that he wasn't sitting in any longer than necessary but still gave the community the protection of having a bond in place and GPS monitoring. The prosecutor in this case said the system worked exactly as it should, that they needed certified records and that takes time. But think about what that actually means. If the system can be completely wrong and still be considered working then what exactly is it protecting? Because while the paperwork was catching up he was sitting in a jail cell. Not because anyone verified the charge but because nobody did. They also said they reduced his bond so he wouldn't be sitting any longer than necessary. After 14 days. And even then they still put him under GPS monitoring for a felony that didn't exist. So be honest. If the system gets it wrong but still calls that working is that justice or just process? >> Prosecutors eventually dropped the case after receiving those certified records showing the misdemeanor conviction but Brewer says it should have been verified much sooner. >> All it would take is one phone call to verify that I'm not a felon. >> Now he's filed a lawsuit against the Martin County Sheriff's Office and the deputies involved accusing them of false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. But Sheriff John Budish says me quote, "At the end of the day the deputies did their job enforcing the law like they're empowered to do and use the mechanisms in place. If that information is in the database it was not information input by MCSO. The FBI which maintains that NCIC database says it's up to the agency that made the arrest or that court system to update NCIC when a case changes." >> Whoever reported it into NCIC reported it as a a felony conviction. >> So I reached out to Kentucky authorities to ask whether Brewer's record was properly updated. Kentucky State Police responded to me in an email quote, "We have reviewed the electronic record response which reflects a felony charge. However, the disposition section indicates the charge was later amended to a misdemeanor." An update in NCIC that didn't come soon enough for Brewer. >> You know, I'm speaking out because I don't want anybody else to have to go through this. Assistant State Attorney Kristen Chase also told me and stressed it is very rare for NCIC data to be wrong. She says the system is used in nearly every criminal investigation and this is the first error like this she has seen in her more than 12 years on the job. >> This wasn't just one mistake. This was a system-wide failure. The deputies relied on the database. The prosecutors relied on the database. The entire case moved forward based on information that was wrong. And nobody stopped to ask a simple question. Is this actually accurate? Because once the system says something it becomes truth even when it isn't. And here's the part nobody wants to talk about. When everything goes wrong like this who's responsible? The sheriff says the data wasn't theirs. The federal system says local agencies update it. The state says their records were correct. Everyone points and nobody owns it. Meanwhile an innocent man loses 2 weeks of his life. Not because of what he did but because of what the system said he did. And that raises a bigger question. If the system gets it wrong how long does it take to fix it? And more importantly what happens to you while you're waiting? Thin blue lies, baby.