[url=http://www.explorehoward.com/news/15341/home-raid-leads-complaint/]Home raid leads to complaint
Police had warrant; dog shot in search[/url]
By Mike Santa Rita
msantarita@patuxent.comPosted 2/05/09
After a Howard County police raid on his house three weeks ago, Mike Hasenei says he has a sprained wrist, a dead dog, a bullet hole in his bed and a 12-year-old daughter who is scared every time she hears a knock on the door.
Hasenei, 39, of the 6600 block of Deep Run Parkway, Elkridge, said he was sleeping shortly after 9 p.m. Jan. 15 when a police tactical team kicked in the door to his house.
He woke up and walked into his living room to find it swarming with officers, he said. When he asked what was going on, he was ordered to get on the ground, and when he asked again, he said, he was knocked to the ground and told he was under arrest.
Police then searched his house, looking for items stolen from two marked police cars that were reported broken into on Jan. 14 in the Elkridge community of Mayfield, according to Hasenei, who said he works as a computer analyst at Marriott International.
During the raid, Hasenei said, police shot his Australian cattle dog, in his bedroom.
Earlier that night, police also raided the nearby house of his stepson, Michael Leon Smith Jr., and turned up nothing, Hasenei said.
Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn confirmed the raid on Hasenei's house, noting that police had a search warrant signed by a judge.
Llewellyn would not confirm whether the raid was related to the items stolen from police vehicles on Jan. 14, citing an ongoing investigation.
No one was arrested in the raid, she said, and no arrests have been made relating to the thefts from the police cars, which she said police are still investigating.
Llewellyn confirmed the dog shooting, but said the dog charged police, forcing them to shoot it.
Police suspected guns
Llewellyn said police had reason to believe a gun was in the residence, which was why they did not knock.
A copy of the warrant provided by Hasenei listed items to be seized, including a Sig Sauer Rifle and three ammunition magazines for the rifle, as well as a police gear bag, county police field procedures manual and guide, and more police-related items.
Llewellyn added that when police have reason to believe there might be firearms in a residence, they take precautions to ensure the safety of the officers and anyone inside the house.
"This often includes the use of the tactical team, which is specially trained to deal with potentially dangerous situations," she said.
Llewellyn confirmed Hasenei filed a complaint about the incident with the Howard County Police Department and that police are investigating.
She said no officers had been placed on any kind of administrative duty following the complaint.
She declined to comment on whether any items were seized in the raid on Hasenei's house, citing an ongoing investigation.
House damaged
At Hasenei's house last week, the door to his daughter's room was off its hinges -- a result of the police raid, he said -- and Hasenei's hand was wrapped in a bandage because, he said, it was sprained when policed cuffed his hands too tightly.
"They looked through everything," Hasenei said of the raid. "They didn't find a single thing. I knew they wouldn't because we don't commit crimes."
What appeared to be a bullet hole was visible in a mattress in his bedroom, where, Hasenei said, police shot his dog, and a bloody sheet was stored in the front deck of his home.
"They shot three times. Two hit the dog, one hit the bed," he said.
When police raided his house, Hasenei said, they produced a search warrant relating to Hasenei's stepson. But Hasenei said Smith has not lived at the address for years.
Smith, 20, also of Deep Run Parkway, said police also raided his house that night, but did not find anything. He said police also pushed him to the ground during the raid.
"I stay in my house and keep to myself," Smith said.
Smith said he does not have a driver's license.
He said his state-issued identity card, however, lists his stepfather's address as his home.
Llewellyn declined to comment on any raid on Smith's house, saying only that multiple warrants had been served that night.
Hasenei said he has contacted a lawyer and plans to file a lawsuit. His lawyer did not return a call seeking comment.
Police Chief William McMahon, through Llewellyn, declined to comment on the raid.
