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Police Raid Wrong Home, Kick Man In Groin

4K views 47 replies 26 participants last post by  P95Carry 
#1 ·
As reported by WRC TV NBC 4 (DC):

Police Raid Wrong Home, Kick Man In Groin
Annapolis Officers Used Flash Grenades

POSTED: 3:27 pm EDT June 7, 2007
UPDATED: 10:03 am EDT June 8, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Annapolis police raided the wrong apartment Wednesday night, using flash grenades and kicking a resident in the groin area before they realized their mistake.

A police spokesman said something must have gone amiss in the briefing beforehand.



Silvia Bernal, 30, told The (Annapolis) Capital that about 15 officers burst through the front door of her apartment while she was cooking dinner. She said the officers kicked her husband in the groin area while she fled into a bedroom.

Police spokesman Hal Dalton says one resident barricaded the door with his body, but police were able to get in after a noise flash device was used.

Dalton says as soon as officers realized that they were at the wrong apartment, they offered immediate medical assistance, even though they saw no injuries.

Officers were supposed to have raided a different apartment on Primrose Avenue. Dalton says the incident is under review.

Dalton says when a warrant was served at the correct address, no one was there and no contraband was found.

NBC 4 reported that three people said they were roughed up by police.

Spa Cove apartment manager Latisha Marshall said there is a large dent in the front door. And she said there are two large black stains from the flash-bang grenades police deployed.

The story with video can be found at; http://www.nbc4.com/news/13462403/detail.html

- Janq
 
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#5 ·
Here we go again. No knock. And innocents suffer. We should not be so cavalier to say that it happens without proper prep right before saying the are is full of ganstas. Apparently, it is NOT full of gangstas. At least there are 2 who are not. If they were in any way, shape or form, they would have done the perp walk regardless of the incompetencies of the LEO.

They, the people who planned/directed the "raid" don't even deserve to be working fast food.
 
#9 ·
Here we go again. No knock. And innocents suffer.
The article doesn't say that it was a no-knock warrant. It just says that the police burst through the door. Doesn't mean they didn't knock first.
 
#12 ·
"Bake 'im away, toys!" :tongue:

But this is not a laughing matter. It's a matter of unforgivable incompetence, and a grave danger to the public.

Answers are required, and heads should roll. And a bunch of cops should consider themselves lucky that they were not responsible for the deaths of innocent people.
 
#8 ·
Be it resolved .. The ******* will now and foreaver more attempt not to comment on the " no knock whent to hell " threads , in fact i will attempt not to even open them .. My views on them are well known , so i will waste no further posts re explaining just how this works , and whom needs held responsibile .
 
#10 ·
Where in the linked article does it say this was a no-knock? It seems every time there is a warrant service that has problems, people are screaming "no-knock!" This may or may not have been one - nothing in the original post indicates one or the other...

Just an admonition to wait for all the facts before condemning anyone. We all know how the media can get things wrong, how facts come to light well after the initial reports, etc... If a guy got his family jewels crunched via legitimate mistake, procedural error, or true negligence remains to be seen - if there was negligence than someone should (and probably will) pay the price... Let's not rush to judgement.
 
#11 ·
Let's not rush to judgement.
(Sarcasm on) Ahhh! It's so much more fun to play Monday morning quarterback and self-righteously blast everyone else. (Sarcasm off)

Okay, OPFOR, you're right. No fun, but right. :wink:
 
#14 ·
The LEO's are looking for someone/something. They can't get the proper info themselves. So they go to their favorite snitch. You know him. He is the multiple convicted felon,drug user,that the police count on for info. How do they get this POS to help supply info? They simply catch him doing something wrong that will be his "third strike" and threaten him with a gazillion years hard time.

In return of the "favor" of keeping him outta jail,the police simply need a little info. Who,when,where. The POS doesn't want to go to jail so he gives them all the "info" that they will need to make a on camera,bust.

The LEO/prosecuter feels this POS/convicted fellon/druggie is telling the truth and they execute the warrent on the house of Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Him in a wheelchair from enjuries that he sustained fighting for his country in Korea,and her with early stages of Alzheimers.

Naaaaaw. Things like this don't really happen ..............do they ???????
 
#15 ·
They had a 'tip?'...I'm not a cop, but aren't they supposed to watch the place for a while? What is the hurry for the 'bust in and look?'

There is not excuse for having the wrong address, and someone needs to step up to the plate for responsibility...

OMO

ret
 
#18 ·
Im not surprised at all that this happened in Maryland.
In Baltimore City, Police are notorious for not "playing by the rules" (i.e. constitution)
2 Years ago, the FBI started an investigation of Baltimore (Annapolis is only a 20min drive from B-moore) on how so many cases of people rights being violated.

Even if a person lives in a ghetto, war torn neighborhood, dont they deserve the same rights as you or I?

And to add my opinion on this case, nothing will happen to the APD. Nothing!
They will simply pay for damages and medical expenses, and IF it is brought to a civil court proceeding there wont be enough "evidence" that these police officers were in the wrong.

Dont get mad at me, I grew up in that Commie State. I know how they work.
 
#20 ·
OK, you're right. We don't need to have the facts, we don't need to presume that the cops are innocent until proven otherwise, we don't need to get our opinions clouded up with any pesky facts or anything.

We'll just join hands with Frankenstein and Tonto - "Cops, baad..."
 
#22 ·
OK, you're right. We don't need to have the facts, we don't need to presume that the cops are innocent until proven otherwise, we don't need to get our opinions clouded up with any pesky facts or anything.
What facts don't we have? They raided the wrong address, they assaulted a citizen who at best was defending his home from an illegal invasion (and what he probably, and reasonably, thought was an invasion of his home by criminals if the area is as bad as was described above). At worst he was standing there doing nothing... AND when the correct address WAS finally searched, they didn't find anything there either, so it was all for nothing in the end.

It would seem to me that if you're doing a "raid" style warrant search you would make doubly sure you're at the right place. It's a lot tougher to recover from a mistake in that situation than a simple "knock-on-the-door, talk-to-the-resident" type where they can just tell you that you have the wrong house.

The only "facts" we need are exactly who screwed up, and how many people need to get fired.

I'm not anti-cop and I realize it's a tough and thankless job... but they aren't supposed to be Soldiers, and they aren't supposed to be kicking in doors unless there is no alternative... and they're supposed to make darn sure it's the right door when they do.... AND they're supposed to have a sworn affidavit justifying the warrant and detailing why they believe criminal activity is taking place there, which in this case they were wrong about as well.
 
#24 ·
Here's more on this raid:


Annapolis police investigate raid
Moyer concedes mistake, says state capital still needs strong drug enforcement
By Andrea F. Siegel
sun reporter
Originally published June 9, 2007
While acknowledging that police made a mistake in bursting into the wrong apartment for a drug raid, Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer yesterday cautioned that the city needs to maintain aggressive drug enforcement.

She said police are investigating the incident as well as their procedures "to assure that this kind of mistake does not happen again." The report is expected within two weeks.


Though she declined to comment on Wednesday's incident until she sees the report, Moyer praised the department's efforts to combat drug use and dealing. The Annapolis Special Emergency Team has carried out 24 search warrants this year, and the department had made 177 drug-related arrests through May 31.

Ensuring public safety is the city's goal, she said.

"Citizens want a restored sense of personal and community security, peace of mind and they want to feel safe," she said.

Members of the Police Department's special team sent to raid an apartment in the Spa Cove complex at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday broke open the door and threw in a percussion grenade. Once inside, the tenants said, the officers kicked a man in the groin, and handcuffed him and a woman.

Police quickly realized they were at the wrong address. They were in Building 905, but were supposed to go to an apartment with the same number in Building 901. When they went to the correct apartment, nobody was there and no drugs were found, police said.

Police said they could not speak to the residents' account of the raid.

The residents' lawyers said three of the apartment's four occupants -- two Salvadoran immigrant couples with limited understanding of English -- were treated at a nearby hospital and released.

In a statement read by Mary Schumaker, a past president of Centro de Ayuda, a nonprofit Hispanic assistance organization based in Annapolis, the couples' lawyers -- Carroll L. McCabe and Harry J. Trainor Jr. -- said one of the women has a heart problem and the other is four months' pregnant.

The couples are no longer at that apartment, Trainor said.

On Wednesday evening, one couple was at home preparing dinner when they heard the door being battered and thought the apartment was being burglarized, according to McCabe.

They were about to call the police when the masked officers burst in with rifles drawn and threw a small grenade designed to startle and disorient, their lawyer said.

Police said a woman had tried to barricade the door with her body.

The second couple came upon the tumultuous scene as they returned home from grocery shopping, Schumaker said, adding that the officers apologized before leaving.

"Sometimes it seems like we expect perfection from police, but they are people like the rest of us, and they make mistakes," said Frank C. Gray Jr., a Glen Burnie attorney who is not involved in this matter.

Nevertheless, he said, if the couples were to seek compensation from the city, it could be for property damage, medical bills, lost wages and the like.

andrea.siegel@baltsun.com
 
#26 ·
It seems that prep work wasn't done correctly, the went to the right apartment but the wrong Building. Poor site rec to me, at least the citizens will get the cities default cash settlement.

I'm not talking about no-knock, or how they got the warrent. They went to the wrong address, the correct address was on the warrent, they went to the wrong apartment.
 
#29 ·
:wink:I've seen the Cato map before- if one supposes that LE Administrators in shall-issue states recognize the higher probability that an officer(s) may be killed in an erroneous raid, its even more interesting. Lots of apparent corrleations that could be explored......
 
#28 ·
Sounds to me like they should have prepped better and made sure that they had the right house and a better plan then what they did.
 
#32 ·
It doesn't seem like many of you are bringing g up the fact that not only did they screw up the address and terrorize innocent people, but also used excessive force by kicking the old man in his testicles.

Now, we all know and should be able to agree they didn't intend on kicking the door down of innocent people. But the LEO who kick the guy in his groin WAS intentional.
Of all the LEO training I have learned about, that was never in any protocol.

I think that right there shows what caliber of Officers we are dealing with.
 
#34 ·
:rolleyes:

I tried to stay out of this, but I just have to point out that no one here knows anything about what happened that night. Something went wrong, but we dont know the details. What we do know is very vague here say. I find it funny that we are quick to jump on the media when they make errors and mistakes with a gun story, a topic we all know something about. When the topic is something else, we all believe that the media's story is fact, and pass judgement when we really know nothing of what really happened.
Imagine what this story looks like to someone who does know a thing or two about the nuts and bolts of raids search and seizure law etc. I'll give you a hint... its a peice of crap that is missing a whole lot of important information about the facts and factors of the case.

Also, it is clear that only a few here know anything about police work, raids, what is and isnt allowed. Reading a outdated book or two, watching Matlock, Andy, CSI or what ever peice of garbage is on the TV does not make one educated in the subject of police work.

There, I'm done ranting. Flame on if you wish, I'll take it for what its worth.
 
#35 ·
Oh, Sixto, Sixto... No one knows? Something went wrong? Only a few people know anything about police work? Apparently the fine officers who raided this place aren't part of that knowledgeable few!
 
#36 ·
I think that although I speak for myself only, here, that others will agree with me when I say that I don't have to hear much beyond, "The police intended to raid X address, but instead ended up bursting through the door of Y address," to know that some unforgivable error was committed.

Really. What mitigating excuse can justify that? We can forget about whether that is what happened in this particular case and just ask it as a hypothetical, anywhere-anytime question: "What thing or things can possibly be used to satisfactorily justify police making a mistake about the location of a warrant to be served, and bursting in violently on totally innocent people who were never intended to be the targets of a warrant/raid?"

Since I'm sitting here unable to imagine a single thing to rationalize such an event, I am asking, begging, someone to proffer any examples.
 
#39 ·
And then there are the people in law enforcement, who take justifiable angst on the part of civilians who have witnessed cops doing wrong, as them being "anti cop."

I am not anti cop. I am anti misuse-of-authority. I am anti incompetence. I am anti carelessness.

It is unreasonable to say that anyone who speaks out against cops acting irresponsibly where the people's rights are concerned must "dislike cops."

Actually, I like cops. We have many of the same interests a lot of the time. Guns/gear/equipment. Standardized procedures/Standardized communications. (As a pilot, I enjoy those things.) Bad guys being removed from society's midst. Seeing Good triumph.

I like plenty of cops. Orange County, CA Sheriff Mike Carona has earned a huge amount of my respect. (See why Here. Click on the video.)

In the same video, you will see why I detest L.A. County Sheriff Leroy Baca, who is a political fraud, bureaucrat, and anti-gun demagogue without a brain in his head.

Just like civilians can either earn the trust of a cop or earn his distrust, so it goes with cops earning trust or distrust from civilians. Just because I can criticize certain actions of certain cops doesn't mean I "dislike cops." I like them plenty -- the good ones -- thankyewverymuch.
 
#42 ·
The question that really underlies it all is this: Just how does a group of guys led ostensibly by someone with a brain end up raiding the absolute wrong residence?

I could understand it, if maybe someone had switched the number plates on the apartment doors. But even then, INTEL should be done beforehand, even if it's just sending a plainclothes guy there some day posing as a bible salesman, to verify where they'll be going when they go. Something.

Do we know if they were even in the correct building? Was the place they were supposed to raid in the same building or complex or what have you? Or did they go to a totally wrong address? I'd like to know just how much they missed by...
 
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