The police in Caldwell, Idaho told Shariz West that they thought her ex-boyfriend might have run into her house and they asked for permission to look inside; she said yes, but then the cops engaged in a 10-hour armed standoff against her empty home (the family dog was inside, but there were no humans), blasting holes in the walls, crashing through the ceilings, smashing out the windows, and filling the house with tear-gas, which destroyed most of the family’s possessions.
The police did not compensate Ms West for the damage to her home, though they did park their nifty military-surplus armored personnel carrier in front of the house for the duration of the “standoff.” Though Ms West gave the cops the keys to her front door, they elected not to use it, preferring to Rambo-ize her home instead.
In any event, the city and PD are now facing a lawsuit. The police did give her a three-week stay in a hotel. Too bad it took more than two months for her to be able to return to her residence. This raid on a house containing nothing more than a dog is the natural side effect of police militarization, which encourages law enforcement to escalate in questionable situations, rather than use more measured tactics to ensure occupants aren’t deprived of a place to live simply because a suspect might be hiding somewhere behind closed doors.
Woman Sues After Police Destroy Her Home During 10-Hour Standoff With The Family Dog
[Tim Cushing/Techdirt]
