Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
Posted on 05/07/2009 8:20:47 PM PDT by ellery
Andrew Leonard was watching television with his wife not long after returning from Ash Wednesday services when police burst through the front door of his North Baltimore home. He was handcuffed, plunked in a chair and told to keep quiet as officers rifled through the house and interrogated him for 15 minutes about drugs and a dealer he knew nothing about.
As it turned out, police had the wrong house. The man they were looking for lived two doors down.
Leonard, a 33-year-old chemist who has no criminal record, said he and his wife, a 29-year-old credit analyst, were frightened and humiliated by the incident. But for the past two months, he's wanted just one thing from the city: for someone to pay for the damage to his front door.
-snip-
No-knock raids can be carried out through warrants signed by judges, or by police who determine at the scene that announcing themselves would present a safety threat or lead to the destruction of evidence.
Critics say the confrontational tactic, often involving masked and armed officers, is increasingly being used in situations that don't require such a volatile response.
A 2006 Cato Institute study found that hundreds of raids are conducted nationwide each year at wrong addresses, sometimes resulting in death.
-snip-
The city denied his claim to be reimbursed for the damage to the door. Leonard said he was told that since the warrant listed Leonard's address, the officers hadn't technically stormed the wrong house.
-snip-
Meanwhile, the old front door sat in the backyard for two months. Leonard said he called the city's bulk trash pickup, but no one came.
The city inspectors who issue tickets for garbage in residents' backyards did, however, and gave him a $50 fine. The door finally was picked up last Thursday.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
ping
I would think a good attorney could resolve this issue and these citizens millionaires.... Hell, illegal immergrants and suing cities and counties for arrest and winning millions...
Did they at least kill his dog?
JBT’s seem to enjoy that.
No, for once they didn’t shoot the dog. They got in trouble for that in Maryland recently; maybe they’re practicing restraint by merely breaking into the homes of innocent citizens, busting up the house and terrorizing the residents.
/s
The problem is, the rest of the citizenry pays for it. Better idea: government employees, including cops, are held personally (and in the case of armed break-ins, criminally) liable for their actions.
I’d probably get shot either for shooting the cops or for mouthing off.
There is no excuse for a no-knock raid in any situation other than if there is a hostage involved.
There are many ways to prevent the loss of / recapture evidence even after it is flushed down the pot.
No-knock raids should be an extraordinarily rare event, not a common occurence.
Now that the news media has banged on the Mayor’s door, the city has begun to move, very slowly.
Frankly, I would have kept the door, stowing it inside. It is evidence in any potential lawsuit.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Gubmint mandated remote flush, police operated potties, with video cam attached to be sure no contraband is going down.
Where's the outcry by the good subjects of Baltimore? The calls for redress?
They remain silent. Let them pay.
He should sue; it’s the only thing that gets these nitwit’s attention.
the kicker is that the hardened criminal they required the no-knock for was such a bad guy, he got a ten year sentence that was suspended to the 30 days time served in county jail.
call the league of justice, lex luthor is out on parole!
This kind of bullshit has GOT TO STOP, before most all people start looking at the police like THEY are the enemy. Take heed, police. I know a lot of you are really good folk. Change this. Change it from within, or the people will eventually change it for you. Also, you dirty judges and lawyers,you’d better take heed as well. They’re the biggest part of the problem,issuing bullshit “warrants” based on junk information, IMO.
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.