Posted on 12/11/2008 3:52:51 AM PST by from occupied ga
Gwinnett County police said they accidentally broke down the door to the wrong house before going to the correct house and arresting a man on drug charges.
Gwinnett County police investigators intended to execute a no-knock search warrant at a home on Valley Spring Drive in Lawrenceville Wednesday morning. Police said the lead investigator mistakenly pointed out a home to the officers and once officers entered the home they realized they were in the wrong house.
VIDEO: Gwinnett County Police Break Down Door To Wrong House
The homeowner of the incorrectly targeted house told Channel 2 that having guns pointed at him was something he would never forget.
"(They) put my life, daughter’s life, my lady’s life in danger," said homeowner John Lewis.
Lewis said Gwinnett County investigators burst through his front door and ordered him and his girlfriend to the floor at gunpoint.
“It’s an experience to have one gun draw on you. It’s something else to have 15, 16 of them,” said Lewis.
Lewis said his 3-month-old baby saw the whole thing. “She was the calmest one,” said Lewis.
Police said once they realized their mistake the search was ceased and the homeowners were released. Police said the front door to the home was damaged during the process.
Fifteen minutes after bursting into Lewis' home, officers served a search warrant at the correct home on Valley Spring Drive. Police said the warrant was served after a three-month drug investigation.
Police arrested Efrain Pedruza, 31, and he was taken to the Gwinnett County Detention Center. Police said they found $24,000 in cash in the home.
Officials said the investigation is continuing. Police are paying for the repairs to Lewis' door.
You’re incredibly naive.
And I just looked at it on google maps. It is a cul de sac. Could not be more than ten homes.
There were fifteen bloody people there! It wasn't the mistake of a single individual. There are address numbers on houses, mailboxes, curbs, etc. Did any one of this dozen-plus group think to check addresses against the warrant?
>>”You’d be a fool if you did reach for a single gun while outnumbered 15 to 1. The best reaction is to stay seated and stay calm, while asking quietly, “Can we help you, Officer?”.....
Are you over-medicated? “Stay seated and stay calm” my a$$!!!
What has the world come to when a man wouldn’t take immediate action to defend his family at all cost from a home invasion? Sorry, but I guess we don’t have enough Lithium added to our water supply where I live to just sit there and allow such an attack.
Perhaps he should have offered them a cup of herbal tea and some organic bran muffins. Get real. Some things are worth dying for and the safety of one’s family meets that requirement.
This happened in a town I used to live in and the homeowner was shot and killed. Like any other homeowner, he grabbed his pistol and, prepared to defend his family, himself, and his home, was gunned down.
We have home invasions by gangs here. So I should do nothing and roll over if a gang invades my home?
Your protest will be paid lip service. Preservation of the unit’s “integrity” is too important to allow any kind of disruption due to a citizen’s complaint based on a “mistake” unless you’re the mayor and they shoot the dog.
The no-knock warrants, except fro KNOWN armed and dangerous felons, must cease.
They won’t until the Second American Revolution.
Some jobs are more critical than others and if you're involved in a job like that you double check everything .
Now I don't know how many successful No Nock raids there were but I'd bet the mortgage that there were less than there are commercial flight landings .An honest mistake would be a pilot forgetting to put the wheels down before landing .So just for giggles I checked the NTSB accident data for the last twenty years and found ONE commercial accident where the pilots forgot to lower their gear. This happened for the simple reason that they use two persons , go by a check list and verify everything. I don't know for a fact but I understand the same thing happens in the Navy aboard submarines.
This was a three month investigation , the raid comprised of fifteen officers .Why couldn't one of them verify the most important thing that they were going to the right house.
You are wrong there is an epidemic of this problem. It is so bad that Los Angeles PD has a carpenter on the payroll to fix the wrong doors they kick down. Not to long ago in the midwest cops broke down the wrong door and some very old lady shot several of them.
Let’s see. They collected $24,000 and will have to pay a few hundred of that to fix the broken door. Pretty profitable mission, I would say. That will buy a lot of donuts.
If it were just a single incident, i'd be right with you, but I read about this type of incident just about every week.
Unless I missed it, the posted story fails to indicate a state or a city. County names really don’t help. Assume this is somewhere in Georgia.
Tell me about it. I work in the petro-chemical industry. I work for a contractor. I would never dream of opening a line on the say so of someone else without first walking the line out myself to ensure all valves were closed and bleeders opened so systems is drained and clear. It would not matter if the plant manager himself said the line was clear, it is my job to ensure my safety and the safety of my coworkers before the task begins.
You aren’t much of a fan of the US Constitution, I see from several recent threads.
Get a grip and re-read the article.
Police said the lead investigator mistakenly pointed out a home to the officers...
You want to fire someone, go after the "lead investigator". The rest of the LEOs were not culpable.
Read my post 54 and then say that again with a straight face.
Lack of attention to detail.Maybe they need a sign in the squad room that says”MAKE SURE ITS THE RIGHT ADDRESS”.Just saying.
You sound like someone who has had encounters with the police before. First, the rank and file officers in the raid arent responsible for getting the right address, they rely on the leadership for that. Certainly the leadership and those who conducted a three month operation resulting in hitting the wrong house have many questions to answer. In the end, you can bet lawyers have already contacted the homeowners and some sort of suit will be filed unless Giwnnett County comes forth with large amounts of money to sooth the feelings of the homeowner and his wife........um, girlfriend.
The next question is why with all this going on two doors down did not the real criminal get out the back door with his cash and hit the road? World’s dumbest criminal?
It would appear that you all have lost track of your own arguments.
Are you arguing in favour of defending yourselves during a raid, while outnumbered 15 to 1? (Very naive, if so.)
Are you arguing against no-knock raids? (Then you apparently don’t want to see police gather any actual evidence that can result in a conviction.)
Are you arguing in favour of legalizing drugs? (I agree with that, but it won’t eliminate the need for no-knock raids even if the number is reduced.)
Are you arguing in favour of “no errors” on the job? (Again, incredibly naive... People are human.)
Are you trying to equate LEO’s to airline pilots and air traffic controllers? (Then you are arguing in favour of much higher IQ’s on the job, and much higher salaries.)
You all are opposed to police making mistakes on the job, but no one seems to have any solutions to offer, nor have any of you (including CATO) got any idea why these mistakes happen.
Maybe someone should set up a Foundation to study the issue.
It is this ridiculous “Police should be flawless mentality” that has led to absolute, anarchist-driven chaos in Greece.
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