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There are several things to consider.

The first is that the moron put himself into a situation in which it was already a publicized fact that arrests were probably going to be made. Even though he has been cleared, he is responsible for putting himself in that position to be mistakenly arrested.

Now does his lack of good judgment merit the cost of the error on the part of the police?

I would have to say no, it does not. If he is innocent, then the prosecution should pay for his legal fees, but only for his legal fees.

Now, as for the other expenses, such as the loss in income due to the mother's time and effort, none of that should be recoverable. If the defendant had lost income during the ordeal, he should be granted standing to sue for damages up to the amount of loss income, no more, no less. But since the defendant was a student, and graduation is not guaranteed until he has passed all his courses, the city can't give him a diploma... There is no other remuneration that would be reasonable.

It is unfortunate but nobody held a gun to the mother's head and told her she had to take time off from work to be with her sun. He could've stayed in jail, he didn't have to be bailed out.

So, he's the victim of being an unemployed person who happened to be mistakenly arrested.

The fact that he is being released shows to me that our system works. Costs incurred outside of legal fees are unfortunate, but they weren't directly caused to him due to the charges brought against him. So, it is sad, but not tragic.

It was literally an unfortunate event precipitated by his poor choices. I feel sympathy for the innocent who stand accused, but that sympathy does not lead me to indict the system that charged him, tried him, and found him innocent. The system apparently works, and I feel proud that it does. Time for this kid to move on with his life and exercise better judgment in the people that he chooses to protest with.