Updated 12:40 p.m.
A man and his wife are suing the Metropolitan Police Department for $1 million in damages for allegedly barging into and searching the wrong apartment during a drug investigation last year in Southeast Washington.
The suit, filed in Washington's federal trial court this week, alleges civil and constitutional violations. The police did not take anything from the home of Danny Costello and his wife, Gai Nguyen, according to court records.
“The police officers had a duty, before attempting to execute their search warrant, to make sure that they were executing the warrant only for the apartment the warrant authorized entry,” the couples’ attorney, Wendell Robinson, said in the complaint [.pdf]. “But the police officers negligently, intentionally, willfully, wantonly, and maliciously, forcibly entered the plaintiffs’ apartment without sufficient evidence that it was apartment #305."
A Metro police spokeswoman, Gwendolyn Crump, declined to comment on the suit. Acting D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment this afternoon.
The authorities were searching for, among other things, drug money, scales, bank records, tally sheets, packaging and boxes. The search warrant identified the target apartment as having a green door with a black iron gate. “There are no numbers on the door but it is directly across from apartment #304,” according to the warrant.
Robinson, a solo practitioner in Washington, acknowledged in the suit that his client’s apartment did not have a number on the door. Robinson was not immediately reached for comment this morning.
The suit said about 10 police officers burst into the apartment on April 9, forcibly entering with firearms drawn, to execute a search warrant. Costello was handcuffed.
“Let’s save time,” an officer told Costello, according to the suit. “Where is the stuff?”
“What is the stuff?” Costello allegedly responded.
“Drugs,” the office said, according to Costello’s lawyer.
Costello said the drugs were in a drawer.
“Not the prescription drugs,” the officer replied after looking in the drawer.
The police, Costello’s lawyer said, continued searching the apartment for more than an hour and did not find anything listed on the search warrant. Nothing was seized, court records show.
“Maybe we got the wrong door,” an officer said, according to the complaint.
no, they lived in the next building in #305 according to the complaint - note the invaded address is 1002 12th Street SE (note the number two)and the search warrant was for 1000 12th Street SE - they weren't even at the right building when they executed a no-knock warrant. So, A) wrong apartment B) it is not legal in DC to knock down doors in the circumstances described, and C) officers ignored the health concerns of the old lady.
If it'd been my house I would have opened fire on the first head through the door after they kicked it down with no prior notice and likely get shot myself by the second guy through because of this blatant negligence.
Posted by: Free Man | February 25, 2011 at 04:50 PM
The man and his wife live in Apartment #305. Except there is no number on their door. The warrant was for #305. The police saw #304 on the door across the hallway and assumed that the door with no number was #305 (as it turns out, it was). So the man and his wife are complaining that that "the police officers negligently, intentionally, willfully, wantonly, and maliciously, forcibly entered the plaintiffs’ apartment without sufficient evidence that it was apartment #305." Except that it actually was #305.
They don't seem to be complaining that the information to get the warrant was invalid (wherever it came from), but that their rights were violated when the police didn't check to be sure that what they thought was #305 was actually #305. Even thought it was.
Posted by: theprez98 | February 19, 2011 at 07:25 PM