“Problem is, if the drop the case, there’s no ruling in favor of those arrested.”
There is still sufficient grounds for a lawsuit, I believe.
Yes there is.
Good luck finding a good lawyer that will not bail on you because of what this would do to his/her career.
ALso the thousands and thousands of dollars you will spend on the case - the municipality has endless pockets compared to you.
Further the judge could rule in your favor but only give a small restitution award to you. You’re not guaranteed to get what you sue for. Judge could say, yes they were wrong, but you only get $50 bucks. That would result in the police not changing their policies. They’d just say take us to court. Spend thousands and waste years to get a verdict in your favor and $50 bucks. Meanwhile the practice of arresting on disorderly will continue.