So, last night the police surrounded my house...

[jdeity]

It's 11:30 at night, and my fiance and I are home alone watching a movie, in bed, pretty much asleep. There's a knock at the door, and we're half awake and say 'let's just see if they go away', figuring it's some random person or neighbor. All of a sudden the place lights up like daytime, from all sides of the house, and people are banging on the windows yelling 'get out' 'come out' 'open up' etc. Of course I immediately realized it was police the second lights were coming in all the windows, so I get out of bed to go see what on earth they could possibly want.

Go to the door in my underwear, only to find out they're looking for <wont' say his name in public boards, lest he find and kill me>, and I explain to them that he only 'kind of' lived here, and it was before we moved to this state. In feb of this year we moved to FL from MA, and we found this house. We bought it from its owners, we never even met the woman that rented it from them before she sold it. Anyways, it's that renter woman's husband or boyfriend, and I know all about him from neighbors apparently he's a pretty big drug dealer.



But here's the kicker - not even 2 weeks ago, there was a cop who came by looking for him, at an appropriate time (~6pm), and I talked to him for a bit and he left. You'd think the fact that the place has been bought by people who just moved here from across the country would get my address pulled from their info on this guy by that first cop (the first officer, the one who came at 6pm, alone, and didn't act like he was going to raid my damn house!).

So now, what the hell do I do? Just hope I'm not going to get any more surprise middle of the night visits? I mean they can get a team together and surround my place, but they can't do their homework on the license plates on the cars in my driveway, or pull the property records, etc etc. <I think that was more of a rhetorical question, this just pissed me off and I needed to vent some >

[jdeity]

Oh, and I should add that I doubt they even had a warrant, because I imagine if they did they probably would've just said 'can we check real quick?'. But as soon as they talked to me they didn't even ask to come in, so I think it's just bad policework and they didn't realize til they woke me that the dude has not had any affiliation with this house since it's sale earlier this year.

[Bikkstah]

Alright alright, calm down.


Is the squirrel ok?

[jdeity]

Nah they took him!!! jk The squirrel's fine! I'm still so heated about this though, surrounding my house like that when proper preparation for it would've shown that he wouldn't be here!

[wibble]

It's time like this when you should unleash the squirrel's fury upon the world. They won't be so brave the next time.

[Brawl]

You should have stood inside your closed door and yelled " you think I give a damn about a cop ?" and went back to watching tv , or the real story ... getting busy with the fiance ... we know the drill .

[jdeity]

It's time like this when you should unleash the squirrel's fury upon the world. They won't be so brave the next time.

LOL! Get em boy!!

You should have stood inside your closed door and yelled " you think I give a damn about a cop ?" and went back to watching tv , or the real story ... getting busy with the fiance ... we know the drill .

They probably would've kicked my door down! I'm not exaggerating, they parked down the street and surrounded the place, knocked, we didn't respond to the knock (not knowing who the hell was knocking at 11:30p), and all of a sudden the whole house was being lit with flashlights, they're banging on the windows yelling 'come out' and stuff.

But once I told them the deal they didn't even ask to verify inside - sounds like piss-poor police work, they could've figured this all out through public records alone, that this guy has no affiliation with us. I don't know this guy, I don't know what he looks like, or what the woman who rented here looks like, etc.



Dude in all honesty I'm just hoping that they don't come again. You hear stories about SWAT teams kicking in doors at like 4am, and shootouts resulting. The second they turned on all the lights, I knew it had to be the police, so I just went to the door. But if they kicked in my door at 4am, wearing all black, and didn't announce they were police, how would I know to respond differently than I'd respond to a burglar? Because if I resonded to that like I'd respond to a burglar, that'd be the end of me, I'd be killed in my own damn house for no good reason.

[Organichu]

But if they kicked in my door at 4am, wearing all black, and didn't announce they were police, how would I know to respond differently than I'd respond to a burglar? Because if I resonded to that like I'd respond to a burglar, that'd be the end of me, I'd be killed in my own damn house for no good reason.

Not if you kill them all first.


























jk.

[jdeity]

LOL! No seriously though, it's happening more and more frequently (botched SWAT raids). I hope they got the point this second time that I don't even know what this dude who's on the run looks like!!!


But you'd never ever make your way through a swat team, as swat teams have weapons law-abiding citizens cannot purchase (hmm, should prolly shut up before going into a rant about how the 2nd amendment is for protecting ourselves, and by denying certain weapons you're denying adequate protection). But that's the type of tragedy that's happening more and more often. SWAT teams kick in doors wearing all black, the people inside think they're being robbed, try to defend themselves, and get completely laid out by the SWAT team. It's really sad.

Either way though, we kinda feel violated, I mean can you picture being alone with your fiance, falling asleep to a movie, and your whole house lights up and there are guys banging on all the windows yelling at you to get out and open up?

[sharkall2003]

Don't worry the police were only doing their job... I'm sure all the other people have a good reason for why they did that and why these things are not all that uncommon.

[Built]

Alright alright, calm down.


Is the squirrel ok?

I have to admit, this was my first thought as well.

[CiteCollegiale]

This reminds me of a story a coworker told me a while back. This guy called the cops caus his wife was getting crazy and physical in an argument. The cops got the story mixed up and thought he was beating up his wife. The police parked their vehicules far from the house as to not make any noise. They came busting through the doors swat style guns drawn. When they got story cleared up that the wife was beating up the guy they started joking and laughing "You called us all the way out here just for this? Do you still need our help big guy?"

[Sumorai]

jdeity,
I am so sorry to hear that you were "raped" like this. Please contact an attorney. Call the local news stations, write the newspaper, write your congresspersons(state and federal, Representatives AND Senators), write the mayor, the governor, write the President of the United States. NEVER LET THIS REST! Talk to the attorney about bringing a law suit.

[Invain]

Talk to the attorney about bringing a law suit.

Thank you for ruining America sir.

I would be pretty pissed and would maybe think about calling the news, but please don't file a damn law suit. What a giant ass waste of time and money. I absolutely hate people that sue for rediculously stupid reasons.

[Bako Lifter]

I have to admit, this was my first thought as well.

Mine too.

[Jorge Sanchez]

Me too.

[jdeity]

I have to admit, this was my first thought as well.

Mine too.

Ya'll love my squirrel huh?!

Don't worry the police were only doing their job... I'm sure all the other people have a good reason for why they did that and why these things are not all that uncommon.

Dude that's so far off base. First off, they were 'doing their job', but they weren't - they were trying to. If you think coming to my house looking for this guy who has a kid with someone who used to RENT this place, before I bought it, at 11:30p at night is doing their job, then your expectations of law enforcement are insanely low. They could have run the license numbers on our cars and seen we were new to the state. They could've pulled PUBLIC records to determine that the deed to this house swapped hands like 4 or 5 months ago. Or they could've known already if the FIRST cop who came by a couple weeks ago actually reported back to the department that there's new people living there and they do not know this guy who's wanted.

And for you to say that "I'm sure all the other people have a good reason for why they did that and why these things are not all that uncommon", that's just insane dude. That's you saying that all of the these botched raids, which are becoming more and more common, is perfectly normal and okay. How can you be okay with that? Check this out and maybe you'll change your mind on how good of a reason these people have half the time:
botched raids

This reminds me of a story a coworker told me a while back. This guy called the cops caus his wife was getting crazy and physical in an argument. The cops got the story mixed up and thought he was beating up his wife. The police parked their vehicules far from the house as to not make any noise. They came busting through the doors swat style guns drawn. When they got story cleared up that the wife was beating up the guy they started joking and laughing "You called us all the way out here just for this? Do you still need our help big guy?"

Perfect example. Police bust the door down over a domestic dispute. Don't they need a warrant to kick a door in? I doubt a judge wrote a warrant over a domestic dispute! See that's just insane, I don't know how people can be okay with crap like that.

jdeity,
I am so sorry to hear that you were "raped" like this. Please contact an attorney. Call the local news stations, write the newspaper, write your congresspersons(state and federal, Representatives AND Senators), write the mayor, the governor, write the President of the United States. NEVER LET THIS REST! Talk to the attorney about bringing a law suit.

What can I do, complain so that the cops hate me? Then they'll be here every other day under the auspices of looking for that convict. This was the 2nd time they came. The first time, I don't mind a late afternoon visit, that's fine. I explained everything to him. It's a whole other story to surround my house at almost midnight, start pounding windows and lighting my whole house up!! If they come a 3rd time I am going to go to the station though to ask them to please stop, there's no way I could possibly know this guy. If I lived locally before buying it, sure, I can see them thinking maybe I bought the place and am harboring him. But that's not the case. As soon as they talked to me last night, I'm pretty sure they realized they messed up, as they didn't even ask me to come inside to take a look and double check. So if me just verbally telling them that he's not here is enough to satisfy them, they clearly realized they were wrong once I said that. The kicker is that they could've figured out what I told them through PUBLIC records, nevermind the private records I'm sure they have access to. It's on public record that this house was purchased, and the purchasers just moved to this state from across the damn country!!

Thank you for ruining America sir.

I would be pretty pissed and would maybe think about calling the news, but please don't file a damn law suit. What a giant ass waste of time and money. I absolutely hate people that sue for rediculously stupid reasons.

Invain, I should preface by saying that I have no desire to sue. However, this was an obnoxious situation that was their fault, I wouldn't call that a ridiculously stupid reason to want to sue. But again, as I said before, I'm not the suing type. If I was ever in a situation where I had financial losses, I'd consider suing. But over crap like this I would never consider it, I'm just gonna shut up and wait to see if they come a 3rd time, then like I said I'll just go talk to their head sheriff or whoever has the power to take that fugitive's case file and write in bold letters "HE HAS NO ASSOCIATION WITH 123 MAIN ST. ANYMORE!!!"

As I said I wouldn't sue over something like this. However, if they kicked my door in, cuffed me and my fiancé, and did all that only to discover he doesn't live here anymore - information they should know - then I would be suing in a heartbeat. The invasion of privacy would be far too much for me to not want to take action. I can deal with the annoyance of last night, but if they actually kicked in I wouldn't have just said 'whatever' about it.





Shark, you can say they're just doing their jobs, but they weren't. They came to the wrong house because they were using dated info. Finding the info and doing their homework before parking down my street, surrounding my house, and causing that circus would be doing their jobs. Saying that they're just doing their job, so T S if something bad happens, is ridiculous. Their job, regarding this incident, certainly should've included verifying facts before what they did, and they failed to do that. That doesn't mean it's all cool, their error, I should just 'understand'. They couldn't care less, of course, I got a half assed insincere apology (I think) from one of them when they were walking away.

[sharkall2003]

Whoa, have you read my posts in the other police thread? I don't think they do their job all that well. I was giving you a hard time and agreeing with you that they were not doing it all that well. That's what the "...." was for. I was trying to hint sarcasm. I actually find it pretty unfortunate that this happened, and it is unfortunate that it does happen. I'd be very frustrated if someone disrupted me and my family because of something such as this.

Edit: Remember, I told you that I'm more libertarian than anything. Well, at least in some terms, and they definitely violated many of your rights. I think I'd bring them to court if I was you. You could say that the police were trying to strike fear into your household, they embarrassed you in front of your neighbors etc. I think you being so polite is actually a true sign of how good of a character you are.

[sharkall2003]

The police are used to scare the public into not doing things. They're there to enforce laws and make sure that others don't resist, because we all need to be law-abiding citizens....

[Sumorai]

Thank you for ruining America sir.

I would be pretty pissed and would maybe think about calling the news, but please don't file a damn law suit. What a giant ass waste of time and money. I absolutely hate people that sue for rediculously stupid reasons.

So there should be no legal repercussions for what the police did to jdeity?
There is nothing wrong whatsoever for holding the police legally accountable for their unjustified harassment of an innocent citizen. It would not be a lawsuit against McDonald's for making someone fat, or making the coffee too hot. Its about jdeity's right as a citizen to live in peace and not be mistaken for someone else due to the police's gross incompetence.
Look jdeity, I don't know if you've got a case or not. You may not have a case at all, and the police could very well have been within the full bounds of what the law defines as apporpriate. Only an attorney can tell you if you've got a case. But obviously that's a moot point since you don't want to sue.
If the law doesn't provide for repercussions against what the cops did to you, then the law should be changed. Bottom line, it wasn't morally right what they did. Police should be held accountable for when they mess up. And yes, it is a big deal. They woke him up at some un-Godly hour and scared the living **** out of him and his fiance. If the cops come knocking, he has to open the door or they will bust in and slam his face on the ground, handcuff him and his fiance, and possibly bring charges against him. This was basically the threat he was under. And it was all because the dumbass pigs were too ****ing stupid to do their homework. jdeity, i think you should at least reconsider talking to an attorney about this. It may scare the pigs a lot more than them simply getting bad publicity. You've got to stand up for yourself, and let the pigs know you are not to be ****ed with. So if you've got the money, call a lawyer and find out what your rights are. Even if you don't have the money, I guess you can try to contact some public legal service or something. You may even want to try the local chapter of the ACLU. But I doubt they would care as it is not high profile enough for them. Nothing against the ACLU, they just have limited resources. At least just talk to an attorney.

disclaimer: I am NOT an attorney and what I have posted is NEVER to be interpreted as legal advice. For legal advice please contact an attorney.

[jdeity]

Whoa, have you read my posts in the other police thread? I don't think they do their job all that well. I was giving you a hard time and agreeing with you that they were not doing it all that well. That's what the "...." was for. I was trying to hint sarcasm. I actually find it pretty unfortunate that this happened, and it is unfortunate that it does happen. I'd be very frustrated if someone disrupted me and my family because of something such as this.

Edit: Remember, I told you that I'm more libertarian than anything. Well, at least in some terms, and they definitely violated many of your rights. I think I'd bring them to court if I was you. You could say that the police were trying to strike fear into your household, they embarrassed you in front of your neighbors etc. I think you being so polite is actually a true sign of how good of a character you are.

Okay I totally misunderstood you, now that you mention it I do remember you leaning libertarian. See, suing them would just cause more **** though you know? I can't say that I'm truly benevolent in not trying to pursue anything on this, a part of it is that (I wouldn't want to tie up the system on things like this), but another part is that I don't want to be hated by all the local cops. As I said, if they come again, I'll have to do something, because 3rd time is ridiculous. But at this point it just doesn't seem like I should be taking action or anything imo.

[Gunshow]

I don't see why the police are so much in the wrong? SWAT teams don't work directly with every one else in the police force, Someone could have tipped off the police department, who forwarded it to SWAT. That is very time sensitive and also they have to be aggresive so that if the person IS there then he wont have a chance to escape. The fact that you moved from another state? that means nothing you could have grown up with this guy and moved, you could have been his drug distributor from another state, how the hell would they know? If the police get a tip saying the guy is in your house, what do you want them to do? If they politely ask if he's there, and you're hiding him you're obviously going to say no sir i have no clue where he is. They have to surround your house because he might run, They also have to come in with guns ready incase he's armed. They're looking for a big drug dealer, not always the nicest people to deal with. Sorry to those who think this is such a monstrocity, but i think you're being over sensitive. I might be biased because i want to be SWAT, but thats how i feel.

[jdeity]

So there should be no legal repercussions for what the police did to jdeity?
There is nothing wrong whatsoever for holding the police legally accountable for their unjustified harassment of an innocent citizen. It would not be a lawsuit against McDonald's for making someone fat, or making the coffee too hot. Its about jdeity's right as a citizen to live in peace and not be mistaken for someone else due to the police's gross incompetence.
Look jdeity, I don't know if you've got a case or not. You may not have a case at all, and the police could very well have been within the full bounds of what the law defines as apporpriate. Only an attorney can tell you if you've got a case. But obviously that's a moot point since you don't want to sue.
If the law doesn't provide for repercussions against what the cops did to you, then the law should be changed. Bottom line, it wasn't morally right what they did. Police should be held accountable for when they mess up. And yes, it is a big deal. They woke him up at some un-Godly hour and scared the living **** out of him and his fiance. If the cops come knocking, he has to open the door or they will bust in and slam his face on the ground, handcuff him and his fiance, and possibly bring charges against him. This was basically the threat he was under. And it was all because the dumbass pigs were too ****ing stupid to do their homework. jdeity, i think you should at least reconsider talking to an attorney about this. It may scare the pigs a lot more than them simply getting bad publicity. You've got to stand up for yourself, and let the pigs know you are not to be ****ed with. So if you've got the money, call a lawyer and find out what your rights are. Even if you don't have the money, I guess you can try to contact some public legal service or something. You may even want to try the local chapter of the ACLU. But I doubt they would care as it is not high profile enough for them. Nothing against the ACLU, they just have limited resources. At least just talk to an attorney.

disclaimer: I am NOT an attorney and what I have posted is NEVER to be interpreted as legal advice. For legal advice please contact an attorney.

See this gets back to something brawl brought up in the squirrel thread (volunteering/helping others in africa). I guess I honestly am not sure how I feel on this. You are right, I do feel violated that they surrounded my place, and I know what they did was wrong, as they could've easily figured out he wouldn't be here - it was just quicker to come check than it was to do the research. But do I take action? If I feel they were wrong, perhaps I should. But then again, that takes time and money, and could possibly bite me in my ass (with the local police hating me). So do I sacrifice my time and potentially put myself in a worse situation by trying to stand up and assert what I truly feel is right, or just say 'screw it, it wasn't *that* much of an inconvenience, next time I'll do something'? ****, now I'm in a moral dilemma lol.

[Gunshow]

Every one is talking about how you were harassed and your privacy was invaded? But really what did they do to you? They came to your house because they thought a criminal was there. What would you do in their situation? If they had broke the door down, handcuffed you and not declared they were the police, then maybe there would be a problem. But there was no harm done by what they did except for they disrupted your time with your girlfriend? Get over it, would you rather that police ignore tips and let drug dealers run free on the streets. I know i want my kids doing crystal meth.

[jdeity]

I don't see why the police are so much in the wrong?

I don’t think you fully read the entire account of what happened. The police were wrong because they were trying to locate the guy at his last known address - but they've ALREADY come here looking for him, and secondly you could do a little better of an approach than they did. <understatement intended>

SWAT teams don't work directly with every one else in the police force, Someone could have tipped off the police department, who forwarded it to SWAT.

Another reason I don't think you read my whole account, this wasn't a swat team. If it were a swat team, and they came in wearing all black and didn't announce they were police, I probably wouldn't be alive to be telling you guys this. Jdeity would have disappeared.

That is very time sensitive and also they have to be aggresive so that if the person IS there then he wont have a chance to escape.

That doesn't make sense. They DO NOT need to be aggressive to stop him from escaping. If they truly had good reason to believe he was inside, then I understand why they'd surround the place. However, what the hell does surrounding the place have to do with changing my quiet night into a bright ass house with massive lights hitting all over my windows, guys banging on my bedroom window yelling at me to get out there, etc? If they just knocked, and knocked a second time, we would have answered the door. At that point, had we been harboring him, they could still have their men stationed in case he tried to run. Surrounding the place DOES NOT require aggression.

The fact that you moved from another state? that means nothing you could have grown up with this guy and moved, you could have been his drug distributor from another state, how the hell would they know?

How would they know? Perhaps the fact that I'm innocent until proven guilty, so making those assumptions and acting upon them are legally wrong? Maybe common sense?

If the police get a tip saying the guy is in your house, what do you want them to do?

Again, further evidence you didn't read the whole account - there were no 'tips' to the police. They just showed up at his last known residence all hyped up to catch him. If you read my account you'd have noticed that they did NOT even ask me if they could come in. Once I opened the door they realized it was the wrong spot and left. If they had gotten a tip they surely would have at least asked to come in, or they would've showed up with a warrant and let themselves in.

If they politely ask if he's there, and you're hiding him you're obviously going to say no sir i have no clue where he is.

Again, further proof you didn't catch the whole story - if they thought I was hiding him they would've at least asked me to do a quick check.

They have to surround your house because he might run,

Again, no problem with them surrounding my house IF they have proper suspicions to do so. They did not. They had his last known address and came in like ****ing gangbusters.

They also have to come in with guns ready incase he's armed. They're looking for a big drug dealer, not always the nicest people to deal with.

A) I never even mentioned their guns
B) They carry their guns all of the time, why on earth would anyone expect them to be unarmed?

Sorry to those who think this is such a monstrocity, but i think you're being over sensitive.

I think you're missing the point. It's not about the 5 minutes of having your heart pounding because you're almost asleep laying in bed with your fiancé and there's dudes lighting your place up, pounding on your windows, screaming to come out. It's about respecting people and their property, I guess it's a principle issue.

I might be biased because i want to be SWAT, but thats how i feel.

And based on what you've said in that post, I bet you'll be the kind of SWAT officer that shoots first and asks questions later. Your responses seem to indicate very strongly that, to you, there's no means that can't be justified by the ends.