Yeah, KARE11 interviewed the guy in the house, and they showed the bullet holes (5 shots!) in the wall leading up the stairs. The guy claimed that the LEO never identified himself as such, and just kicked the door in. I'm not sure if the occupant(s) actually HAD a gun, but they verbally warned that they did. I would hope that the cop didn't just kick the door in, fire five times, and then retreat (without actually seeing a weapon or repeatedly identifying himself as law enforcement).

Messed up is a very tame representation of that SNAFU. Especially when the Star & Sickle report mentions that the patrol deputy had an idea of what happened en route to the scene.

What in the hell would require a trip to the pokey when the first scene commander already saw that it was a miscommunication? I personally would mention the event to my barrister if it were me.

Then again, if it were me, I might need a barrister.


MM

Probably you can beat the charges, if any, but you can't beat the ride. But I'm cynical.

Unverified, but I have heard that the names were released: Deputies Marcus Hoffer and Adam Volek.

“The incident comes just weeks after the city of Minneapolis agreed to a settlement of more than $600,000 for a raid on the wrong residence in 2007. In that instance, the SWAT team, acting on wrong information, exchanged fire with Vang Khan in his north Minneapolis home. Khan thought the officers were criminal intruders.”

This cop would have been “exchanging fire” with me if he had broken into my home unannounced. They way my home is set up if I were watching TV and this happened I have a clear field of fire at the front door and some cover to crouch behind.

From someone in the know:

"He was sitting there watching TV and heard the door kicked in. It was dark out, and they thought they were getting robbed. The first thing he heard was someone shouting "Put your hands up!"

He said, "Get the fuck out of my house or I'll get my gun."

[He was not holding a firearm at the time]

"He peeked down the stairs. That's when the shooting started. Five shots, as near as he could tell. Then the cop ran back out the door and called for backup.

The worst part about it was that in all the commotion, the cops had such a hard-on for these guys, even after realizing they were in the wrong house, that it took at least an hour and two more calls from dispatch to get just one officer to respond to the original domestic dispute that started the whole thing."

There are several things I find highly disturbing about this story, as I've said before;

#1: The mindset that it was okay for the police to kick in the door when no one answered to their knocks. Since when are we obligated to answer let alone open our doors to anyone, at any hour day or night? And since when does that refusal/reluctance to open the door give someone carte blanche to kick the door in?

There are better ways... perhaps a call to dispatch to confirm that you're at the right house? Maybe have dispatch call the house to see if they, in fact called the police, or at least let them know that the knocking at their door is a cop...

#2: "Get the f*** out of my house or I'll get my gun!" is cause to fire 5 shots at a face poking around a corner? And then run away? Who the hell trained these cops? Monty Python? Hermann Göring? There is so much wrong with these tactics I can't even begin to pick apart this part of the situation. Unconcievable.

#3: An hour. An hour for one of the dispatchers to get them back on track; "Gee, guys, I understand you're having a grand old time terrorizing an innocent homeowner, but did anyone thing to check on that legitimate call where a woman was being beaten?"

Are these officers that prone to the <strike>wolf pack</strike> piranna/shark mentality? As soon as the first officer (no matter how wrong he is) unholsters his gun the rest follow suit and form a perimeter with weapons from their own? I'm not saying all cops are bad, not even most; what I'm saying is that when all officers are in lock-step (or maybe it should be "goose-step") and not one says "Gee, guys, are we sure about the circumstances here?", then they're guilty of criminal negligence. Just like I would be if I aimed a gun at someone who had in fact paid for that gallon of milk and wasn't robbing the store, for example.

#4: Six hours. SIX HOURS. That's how long the homeowners were detained for for 1: Not answering a door, 2: Upon hearing their door kicked in uttering "Get out of my house or I'll get my gun", and then 3: having the audacity of not being an ideal bullet catcher for the cop firing 5 rounds into their house.

SIX HOURS! FOR DOING NOTHING WRONG! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? They were hauled in for six hours FOR UTTERING A SINGLE PHRASE!!!

It's a sad day when we make excuses and rationalize this type of behavior from the people that are supposed to be protecting us and serving us.

And people wonder why communities hate cops.

Terroristic threats. They call it terroristic threats these days and strip your rights. The officer was just responding to this violent verbal felony by returning fire

I have been bitching about this since it happened to us on 14 Dec 2007 . .. seething really fricken mad. But still going rounds with the city attorney who is so concerned there might be another pay out, he has to violate law to . . . . eh, I am going to bed. I get myself worked up over this topic and then it is another sleepless night. It is no big deal really. It isn't like I could use the money that went to repair doors or legal costs, or frick! I probably have spent better than $150 just at meters downtown trying to get this worked out. Really I just want my family heirlooms back, don't even plan to go after a settlement. Chuck the rest up to a loss, shoulda been home to answer the door for that no knock. Exigent circumstances in these poor boy's case . . . same difference. The 4th amendment doesn't exist anymore.

Walks away scott free http://www.5onthego.com/wap/news/text.j ... News&ith=0

I hope, for my sake, his sake and the sake of our familes that the friendly neighborhood door-kicker doesn't pull a stunt like this at my house. Theres a very real possibility that if he kicks in my front door for <strike>no reason</strike> his contrived reasons he's gonna have a fire-fight on his hands.

Binky,

Let us know if you hear of any upcoming lawsuits regarding this incident.

I'll see what I can dig up, but my source may be reluctant to talk if theres any kind of pending litigation.

Stay tuned...

Stories like this have me changing my tactics. There's going to be no mention of firearms in my verbal warning...if I even offer one.

Staying the hell out of my house when you haven't been invited is a great way to stay alive, whether you're a cop trying to do his job or a level III trying to rape my wife to death.

I have contemplated this as well. I think I am going to continue to use verbal attempts to persuade intruder to leave.
Pluses
Causes badguy to leave, meaning I don't have to shoot him.
Causes good cop to identify himself as police, and allows me to call 911 to verify.

Non Plusses
Gives up tactical advantage of surpise in both location and capability.
Causes bad/untrained cop to start shooting.

Talked to my contact last night. Can't say too much more other than that there are two groups of people planning to file suit.

My guess is there will be no admission of fault, but <strike>a fairly generous settlement</strike> the standard "hush-money" will be offered.

Most likely result, and while I can't see any reason to be critical of folks who take the settlements, as long as that sort of thing keeps on happening, the underlying problems -- regardless of what the problems are -- won't get fixed.