Posted on 04/30/2008 9:27:20 AM PDT by BGHater
Brooklyn Park police were looking for a meth lab, but they found a fish tank and the chemicals needed to maintain it.
And a few hours later, when the city sent a contractor to fix the door the police had smashed open Monday afternoon, it was obvious the city was trying to fix a mistake. It happened while Kathy Adams was sleeping.
"And the next thing I know, a police officer is trying to get me out bed," she said.
Adams, a 54-year-old former nurse who said she suffers from a bad back caused by a patient who attacked her a few years ago, was handcuffed. So was her 49-year-old husband.
"They brought us here and said once we clear that area, you can sit down and you will not speak to each other," she said.
Police were executing a search warrant signed by Hennepin County Judge Ivy Bernhardson, who believed there was probable cause the Adams's home was a meth lab.
Berhardson, who was appointed to the bench less than a year ago, did not return KARE 11's phone calls.
"Ohmigod," Adams said as she recalled police breaking down her door and flashing the search warrant. "I just kept saying to them, 'you've got the wrong house.' "
Police soon realized that themselves.
"From a cursory view, it doesn't look like our officers did anything wrong," said Capt. Greg Roehl.
Roehl said the drug task force was acting on a tip from a subcontractor for CenterPoint Energy, who had been in the home Friday to install a hot water heater.
"He got hit with a chemical smell that he said made him light headed, feel kind of nauseous," Roehl said.
The smell was vinegar, and maybe pickling lime, which were clearly marked in a bathroom Mr. Adams uses to mix chemicals for his salt water fish tank.
"I said, 'I call it his laboratory for his fish tanks,' " Mrs. Adams said, recalling her conversation with the CenterPoint technician. "I'm looking at the fish tank talking to this guy."
Police say there was no extended investigation, just an interview with the subcontractor.
"Everything this person told us turned out to be true, with the exception of what the purpose of the lab was," Roehl said.
Adams is looking for a lawyer.
"I could say that about my neighbor - I smelled something when I went in their house," she said. "Does that make it right for them to go in there and break the door down and cuff you? I think not!"
Police say the detective who asked for the search warrant is an 8 ½-year veteran, but he just started working in the drug task force.
CenterPoint energy maintains the home was "unsafe" and it would have been "irresponsible" for the subcontractor not to report it.
No kidding. Lady, just be happy they didn't kill you.
I’d be taking an ax to our friendly energy contractor.
And suing the city and the cops and the energy company in question.
Breaking and Entering, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Using a Firearm during the Commission of a Crime, Conspiracy to Commit Felony Burglary, Violation of Privacy, Conspiracy to Violate ones privacy. Making a False Police report. Every Single Person involved should be in Jail for LIFE without PAROLE. There is no Excuse for this type of raid unless there is CLEAR and CONVINCING EVIDENCE of a Crime.
I hope She sues everyone involved and ends up Owning the company that Filed this False Report.
Eyeamok
From a cursory view, it doesn't look like Capt. Greg Roehl is fit to hold a position of public responsibility and trust...
“From a cursory view, it doesn’t look like our officers did anything wrong,” said Capt. Greg Roehl.”
This kind of thing is going to keep happening until we hold the cops and judges personally responsible for their negligence.
Even knowing they made a mistake, they still justify their actions with more BS.
All abominations are justified when one is huntin drugs.........
Reef aquarium guys also have the added bonus of buying and using large amounts of metal halide lighting. ( Gumshoes think those are for growing pot indoors mainly ).
Did they shoot the dog? Angry paramilitary drug warriors love to shoot them some dogs. Maybe they just shot the fish instead. It was moving its mouth like it was going to bite someone, and who knows, it might be trying to hide drugs in its stomach.
Amazing!
Unfortunately the taxpayers are going to have to fork over some bucks due to the idiocy of a contractor and a few government officials.
Geez... how hard would it have been to investigate just a little bit more before knocking down doors?
jw
Surprised no tasers were involved.
Good Grief! This whole thing sounds like a combination of Maxwell Smart and the Keystone Kops!
The money point in the article is that the energy contractor replacing your hot water heater is really a police informant.
This was the basis of the warrant? Vinegar & pickling salts are restricted items? Maybe they can raid the pickle plant in Mansfield, Texas.
The lure of asset forfeitures is irresistable.
“CenterPoint energy maintains the home was “unsafe” and it would have been “irresponsible” for the subcontractor not to report it.”
Amazing yes, but their backside is now exposed and they have to stick to the story. Otherwise they will be REALLY vulnerable to litigation.
This Judge has some splainin to do.
They should be Held to be Personally Responsible, Sieze their Assets immediately. They conspired to commit a crime for Financial Gain. under Asset Forfeiture there need not even be Charges filed to Seize Assets. Take Their Homes Now, File A RICO suit in Federal Court and sue them into Bankruptcy. Goto THe DA and File Criminal Charges, Make them do a full and complete investigation, they will do everything possible to discourage you from filing formal charges. Just Say NO and file criminal complaint. It will piss them off, but once filed they will be required to investigate fully.
ps Where is The ACLU???
Eyeamok
uh, the Fed is asking all boaters to be informants now. Big Brother loves informers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080428/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_small_boat_terror
Lucky she didn't have a dog that started barking. I like how a home maintenance contractor now has the authority to get a judge to sign a warrant for a no-knock raid. And how the cop chief says he sees "nothing wrong" with what happened. Frightening. The Fourth Amendment is dead.
I’d like to see a simple law...anytime the cops screw up on a house raid...they have to cough up $10k of the budget of the office and each cop on the raid loses three days of pay. At that point, they will stop screwing up and do the right job. There is no excuse these days for such “accidents”.
> Breaking and Entering, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Using a Firearm during the Commission of a Crime, Conspiracy to Commit Felony Burglary, Violation of Privacy, Conspiracy to Violate ones privacy. Making a False Police report.
You forgot about the handcuffs: Assault and Battery. Aggravated Assault. Kidnapping...
> Every Single Person involved should be in Jail for LIFE without PAROLE. There is no Excuse for this type of raid unless there is CLEAR and CONVINCING EVIDENCE of a Crime.
Here in NZ the laws against Home Invasion (which is what this was, under “Color of Right”) are very strict indeed, and the punishments quite severe. Gaol would be a likely outcome for anyone doing this OTHER THAN A COP WITH A WARRANT. More is the pity!
> I hope She sues everyone involved and ends up Owning the company that Filed this False Report.
Energy company and the Cops: nice deep pockets. She should be able to retire now. That is, if there is any Justice in this world.
What happened was wrong, and needs to be made right... but at the same time we have some real drama queens here on FR replying to this thread.
Amazingly...I heard this comment come out of the mouth of a public defender when I was helping to prosecute a 5 time felon who had attacked me just months earlier.
Yeah. Unfortunately, what we have today is precisely the opposite. Law enforcement agencies now get to keep, in their budgets, the assets seized in these types of raids. Taking homes, cars, boats, jewelry is mighty tempting. Especially when there is no penalty whatsoever by occassionally breaking into the wrong house. Unless they wind up killing innocents -- they draw the line there. For now, at least.
Drama queens? Are you keeping up with current events?
These botched raids are happenining with frightening regularity.
You are not concerned that a home improvement contractor now has the power to get a judge to sign a warrant for a no knock raid? Wow.
“What happened was wrong, and needs to be made right...”
What’s your solution? New hinges on the door and a scripted apology from some government suit?
Agreed. The victims should get compensation and a heartfelt apology, but there’s no need for the Cops to be locked away for life or nonsense like that.
Still breaking-in his jackboots (along with some doors.)
You’re now Private Greg Roehl...
Did you not read my first sentence? You purposly ignored it so that your party dress would shine even more!
In answer to your rhetorical question that had already been answered... yes, I'm concerned with that, and I'm also concerned that people on FR think that a cop who is handed a search warrant and told to go do his duty should be thrown in jail for life. That's what you guys are saying, and I have no words to describe what I think of that attitude that my mother would approve of.
My solution is to sanely fix the problem. The drama queen solution is to throw the cops, who are following orders and doing their sworn duty, in prison for life.
In a "police state" they can do what ever they want on a hunch.
check it out.
“My solution is to sanely fix the problem.”
OK, how?
Occasionally these things look a bit like training exercises.
I don’t think this one was such just because there was not a dog present to shoot and shooting the dog seems to be a basic part of the training.
Sad thought.
*do your job and shut your mouth if you want a referral* Sounds like a good way to conduct business!
You have to fault the judge as well, aren’t they supposed to look at the reasoning behind the warrant? “Contractor says bathroom smells funny, makes him dizzy”. Well, it’s probably the smell of sh!t from you having your head up your ass!
That's what makes these things so disturbing.
“My solution is to sanely fix the problem.”
>>OK, how?
Not my job or expertise to fix this, but if the job were thrown into my lap I’d start asking questions of people who are near and dear to the issue. So I’m asking you. What would you do? Presumably the warrant was issued legally buy a judge. The people weren’t brutalized in any way... they just were the victims of a mistake. I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t pretend to know what to do. What happened was wrong, and should be addressed. Give a million bucks to the victims? Not based on what I read. I’d invite the cops to come in here and burn my house to the ground for a million bucks.
Financially penalize the police department? I’m not so sure, because that money would have to come out of some program or other, and police departments tend to spend their money on critical things.
I can say for sure that those people need to be compensated in some way, and I’m sure some lawyer will try to do that for them... for a percentage of course.
But I’m convinced beyond any measure that cops who execute search warrants shouldn’t be thrown in prison for life because the person who is searched was innocent, and that is what spurred my original comment.
I read it. It is NOT being made right. It has been going on for years and years, with many innocents (and dogs) paying for these mistakes with their lives.
Of course the cops who execute the raids should not suffer penalty. The laws should not allow these types of raids, which are unconstitutional.
It would probably be that easy.
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