Botched Paramilitary Police Raids ("SWAT")

DEAD Tanika Williams and Sincere Wilson – Lima, Ohio January, 2008
A SWAT team Burst into the home of Tanika Williams, her one year old son, and her boyfriend, and immediately opened fire. Tanika was killed, her son wounded, and even one of the family dogs was killed. While the SWAT team executed the raid at the proper address, their wanton use of excessive force cannot be justified by the undisclosed amount of marijuana and crack they purportedly found in the possession of the boyfriend.

Norma Saunders – Philadelphia, September 2007
Norma Saunders returned home from a family reunion to find her home trashed, her front door broken in, and her burglary alarm torn from the wall. Police officers had raided the house looking for drugs and weapons. The house they intended to hit was several houses away.

Virginia Herrick – Durango, Colorado, June 2007
77-year-old Virginia Herrick was surprised by a police task force in gas masks when they barged into her mobile home and threw her to the ground. Her home was ransacked and she was separated from the oxygen tank she needs to help her breath. Police later realized that they had the wrong house and apologized.

SERIOUS INJURY Kari Bailey, 23, and her 5-year-old daughter, Hayley – Stockton, California, May 2007
An eight-member code enforcement team investigating a complaint about drug use shot the Bailey's dog in the paw, and shrapnel from the bullet injured the Baileys. It was a wrong address.

Davis Family – Jacksonville, Florida, March 2007
Masked police officers burst into the Davis family home and ordered everyone to the ground while they ransacked the house looking for evidence of a drug crime. Willie Davis, grandfather of murdered DreShawna Davis, and his mentally disabled son were forced to the ground and watched helplessly as police tore apart the memorabilia from DreShawna's funeral. This show of paramilitary force was in response to the alleged sale of two crack rocks, an amount worth roughly $60.

DEAD Daniel Castillo Jr. – Wharton, Texas, February 2007
Police raided the home of Daniel Castillo Jr., age 17, in search of weapons and drugs. Daniel was awakened by his sister crying "don't shoot." When he entered the room to investigate, police officer Don Falks shot him in the face, killing him. Daniel had no criminal record, and no drugs or weapons were found.

DEAD Isaac Singletary – Jacksonville, Florida, January 2007
As the victim of a botched sting operation, Isaac Singletary was shot to death after reacting to two undercover officers posing as drug dealers. Believing that he was being confronted by armed criminals, Singletary brandished a gun, prompting police to open fire. Singletary was announced "completely innocent" by the Jacksonville sheriff.

DEAD Corporal James Dean – Leonardtown, Maryland, December 2006
Cpl. James Dean, an Army reservist, was killed by a Maryland State Police sharpshooter during a standoff that began when police intervened in Dean's apparent suicide attempt. Dean did fire some shots, so the case is complicated, but had not threatened anyone other than himself until the SWAT team arrived.

Salvador Celaya – Gilbert, Arizona, December 2006
Police raided the house of Salvador Celaya by mistake, causing a standoff with Celaya, who was 73 years old and suffers from Alzheimer's. Believing his home was under attack by criminals, Mr. Celaya fired on the police. He was eventually driven from his home by the fire which had started from a flashbang grenade thrown into his house by police. While no one was injured, the house did burn to the ground.

DEAD Kathryn Johnston – Atlanta, Georgia, November 2006
92-year-old Kathryn Johnston was killed by police during a raid conducted at the wrong house. Ms. Johnston fired at the police officers as they were breaking in through her living room window. Three officers were injured, but Ms. Johnston was struck 39 times and died at the scene.

DEAD Derek Hale – Wilmington, Delaware, November 2006
Retired marine Derek Hale was targeted by police due to his association with a motorcycle club. When a team of SWAT officers poured out of the black vans they had arrived in, Hale was told to raise his hands, but was tasered before being able to comply, then was tasered two more times and shot three times point blank in front of his friend and her two children. Police claimed he resisted arrest, however, all witnesses testified that he had been attempting to comply with the police but was unable to because of the three taser attacks. He had no criminal record and had served two tours in Iraq.

Durrell Jones – Sarasota, Florida November 2006
Police raided the home of Durrell Jones where he lived with his brother and four year old son. Police barged in both front and back doors with guns pointed. The family was forced to the ground and the house was searched before one of the officers realized they had raided on the wrong house.

DEAD Otto Zehm – Spokane, Washington, March 2006
Zehm, a 36-year-old mentally disabled janitor, stopped breathing and lapsed into a coma after being beaten, shocked with a taser weapon and placed on his stomach for an extended period of time while hogtied by a force of no less than seven police officers. He never regained consciousness and died two days later.

Margot Allen – Sugar Land, Texas, October 2006
A police SWAT team burst into the Allen home, set off a flash grenade, shot the family dog and arrested Allen's son and boyfriend. In their subsequent search of the house police were only able to find one small marijuana cigarette.

Anita Woodyear – Brownsville, Texas, September 2006
A police SWAT team burst into the home of Anita Woodyear, handcuffed her 11- and 12-year old and shot the family dog. Police justified the bust by evidence of the sale of a mere $60 worth of marijuana.

DEAD Cheryl Lynn Noel – Chicago, Illinois, January 2005
A police SWAT team raided the Noel family home after finding marijuana seeds in the trash outside their house. They broke into the house at 4:30am in full riot gear after setting off a flashbang grenade. Upon entering the bedroom and finding Mrs. Noel holding her legally licensed pistol, the officer fired three times, killing her in her bed.

Flexton Young – Bronx, New York, August 2006
Flexton Young, his wife and their four children were asleep when police broke down the door of their apartment on the fourth floor of 974 Anderson Ave at 6:00am. They ripped through the front door, tore off the closet door, and ripped both of the childrens' rooms to pieces. The search turned up one mostly smoked marijuana cigarette in an ashtray.

ASSAULTED Arlita Hines – Dale City, Virginia, July 2006
Police burst into the home of Arlita Hines, where she lives with her sister and nephews. They threw the family members to the ground and handcuffed them, tossed the house looking for drugs, but found none. Police later acknowledged they had raided the wrong house.

SHOT Guillermo Urquiza – McKinney, Texas, June 2006
Police claim Guillermo Urquiza solicited a hit man to kill a police officer, and raided Urquiza's home looking for evidence. Urquiza says he thought he was being invaded, so he grabbed a gun to defend himself. He didn't get off a shot, but the raiding SWAT team shot him multiple times. He was never indicted for hiring a hit man, but he was charged with shooting at the police. He was convicted of assault, and sentenced to five years in prison.

Steven Blackman – Fort Worth, Texas, June 2006
The raid on Steven Blackman's house began when police fired several rounds of tear gas into the house, and the SWAT team officers rushed in and broke down the back door. While they had the right address, they did not know that the man they were pursuing had not lived there for three years. The person they were looking for was suspected of mere possession.

SHOT Kenneth Jamar – Huntsville, Alabama, June 2006
51-year-old Kenneth Jamar, a semi-invalid with severe gout and a pacemaker, was shot several times and nearly killed in a SWAT raid on his home last June. Jamar was holding a gun when the SWAT team kicked down his bedroom door. Police were apparently looking for Jamar's nephew. Despite the fact that the address on the search warrant was incorrect (the address listed was that of the suspect's father), police insisted that the raid on Jamar's home was legal and that his home was the home they'd intended to raid all along.

Joy White – Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 2006
The home of Joy White and Bob Lazar was raided by a police SWAT team because they ran an online business specializing in the sale of chemicals for scientific activities. They count the Department of Homeland Security and several police and fire departments among their clients. Police handcuffed the couple and held them on suspicion of selling illegal fireworks. Police confiscated all materials and computers from the business, but could not tie White or Lazar to any illegal activity.

SERIOUS INJURY Elderly Couple – Horn Lake, Mississippi, March 2006
A man and a woman – both in their 80s – were injured as TACT team members secured their house although no drugs were found. The woman received a dislocated shoulder and the man received bruised ribs. Both were taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto. Police later admitted to hitting the wrong house.

DEAD Salvatore Culosi – Fairfax County, Virginia, January 24 2006
Dr. Salvatore J. Culosi was shot and killed by a member of the county police SWAT Team while being served with what should have been a routine documents search warrant. The officer involved was not disciplined and the county is refusing to reveal the information leading to the killing.

Chidester Family – Springville, Utah, January 2006
The County SWAT team manhandled a family when it erroneously raided their home. Lawrence Chidester was tackled and his face shoved into the ground and rocks although he was standing with his hands in the air repeatedly saying "I am not resisting." The Chidesters allege SWAT members threw him to the ground and pointed a gun at his head. Upon realizing their mistake the police left without apology.

ASSAULTED H. Victor Buerosse – Pewaukeep, Wisconsin, January 2006
68-year-old retired lawyer H. Victor Buerosse was the victim of a botched raid when a SWAT team burst into the wrong apartment. His continued pleas that the officers had the wrong place were answered by violence. In one instance, Mr. Buerosse was struck on the head with a police shield; he was also thrown into a closet door. This show of force was marshaled in response to a tip that small amounts of marijuana might be in the intended residence.

ASSAULTED Edwin and Catherine Bernhardt – Hallandale, Florida, February 2006
The police broke down the Bernhardt's door in a late-night raid, then threw the two of them to the floor and held them at gunpoint while the officers searched the house. Edwin had been nude, so the police made him wear a pair of his wife's panties. The couple was then taken to jail, and sat there for several hours until the police realized they had the wrong address.

Michelle Clancy and Robert DeCree – Paterson, New Jersey, December 2005
Police mistakenly burst into the home of Robert DeCree and his girlfriend Michelle Clancy instead of the intended target next door. Before acknowledging the mistake or relenting in their assault, they forced Clancy, her 65-year-old father and 13-year-old daughter to stand in the cold entryway for 20 minutes while they searched the house, and threatened to shoot DeCree and his barking dog.

David Scheper – Baltimore, Maryland, August 2005
Thinking his home was being invaded by criminals, David Scheper armed himself with a Czechoslovakian pistol from his collection of firearm relics. The gun discharged accidentally into the ground before Scheper was seized by the police who had stormed the house. While the police found no evidence of illegal activity and acknowledged having made a mistake in entering Scheper's home, they nonetheless charged him for the weapons discharge. The charge was defeated in court.

DEAD Anthony Diotaiuto – Sunrise, Florida, August 2005
Sunrise police claimed that Diotaiuto had sold some marijuana, and because they knew he had a legal gun, decided to use SWAT. Neighbors claim that the police did not identify themselves. Police first claimed that Anthony pointed his gun at them, and later changed their story. Regardless, Anthony was dead with 10 bullets in him, and the police found a mere two ounces.

John Simpson – Nampa, Idaho, June 2005
Police threw a flashbang grenade through the window of John Simpson's home, stunning him and his wife. The intended target for the raid was the duplex next door. No one was injured in the raid but the Simpsons are currently seeking counseling for the trauma. The intended culprit was found with four ounces of marijuana next door.

ASSAULTED Sharon and William McCulley – Omao, Kauai, March 2005
Police officers entered the home of the McCulleys -- grandparents -- whom they suspected of marijuana dealing. One officer grabbed Sharon McCulley and threw her to the ground, handcuffed her and pressed his gun into her head, leaving a mark, while her grandchild was forced to lie near her. William McCulley, who walks with the aid of a walker, was also thrown to the floor, after which he began to flop on the floor due to shocks from an electronic device implanted in his spine to alleviate pain. Police searched the house and found no trace of illegal activity. The McCulleys sued the officers involved in federal court.