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Subscribe to RSSA Massachusetts woman says FBI agents used a chain saw to cut through her door and held her and her young daughter hostage for 30 minutes before realizing they were raiding the wrong apartment. WHDH-TV's Victoria Block reports.
WHDH-TV's Victoria Block reports.
A Massachusetts woman says the FBI used a chain saw blade to cut through her door and held her at gunpoint for at least 30 minutes before agents realized they were conducting a raid at the wrong home.
Judy Sanchez, of Fitchburg, says she awoke to heavy footsteps in the stairwell on Jan. 26 and walked into her kitchen in time to see a blade chop through her door.
"I took two steps, face the second door, and I heard the click of a gun, and saying, ‘FBI, get down,’ so I laid down on my living room floor,” Sanchez told WHDH.com. "I was screaming, ‘You have the wrong apartment, you have the wrong apartment,’ over fifty times. And then I seen the big blade coming down my door."
She says she was held face-down on the floor at gunpoint while her 3-year-old daughter Ji’anni cried in another room.
It turns out agents were after the other tenant on the floor of the multi-unit building who was suspected of dealing drugs. The raid was called Operation Red Wolf, a two-year investigation into drugs and weapons, WHDH.com reported.
Sanchez says she and her daughter now have trouble sleeping. The mom told WHDH she now sleeps with a baseball bat next to her bed.
The FBI has apologized and is paying for the damage.
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Well, that's going to be some fed cash coughed up.
Let's see, a door, and some unnecessary life threatening circumstances....I bet its not the first time this happened, so some judge probably will be able to get a figure on that.
This is a news story? The FBI made a mistake, scared a woman and her kid for half an hour, then left and are paying for the damages. While I'm sure the woman will remember this for the rest of her life, it hardly seems like she'll have PTDS. She'll probably sue and collect some punitive money, and that will be the end of it.
They should have called-in Leatherface. He wouldn't make that kind of mistake.
A two year investigation and the fools at the FBI get the wrong door during the bust. maybe after two years of investigation, they shoulda checked the address in the last two minutes before the raid. Idiots!
AG99, you ever had your door chainsaw'd down in the middle of the night? Dismissing this and saying "oh well, they make a mistake" is exactly why it keeps happening. I think about what would happen if it happened to me being as I own firearms, I can tell you if I am awakened and see a saw cutting down my door I am firing, in which case I would likely be killed by the cops entering, then I guess people like you would just say "oh well, it was an accident, why is this a story".
How many times must it be said? Measure twice. Cut once! Sheesh!
FBI Agent Marcel Ledbetter later apologized for using his lightweight McCulloch chainsaw on the wrong door.
Why would you think the FBI are any smarter than Billy Bob, the local fuzz. They are the same rednecks with a larger budget.
Mike: Let's face it, mistakes happen. You're right; it could have ended tragically if the woman had been armed, but it didn't. Lesson learned and move on.
Besides, does it "keep happening"? Is this commonplace? Not that I've heard.
Total waste of resources and seems they still trying to win a losing battle called the drug war
L O S E R S
If anyone starts sawing through my door, they're getting shot. Rest assured that the the chest plates and the body armor aren't going to stop my .375 H&H mag.
Well, there is that pesky little Constitutional provision against "unreasonable search and seizure".
But, hey, why let that stop them, right AG99?
I mean, there was a suspected drug dealer at large.
This is a serious breach of American ideals. At least Ron Paul will try to fix this.
AG99 (Does the AG stand for Attorney General since you're siding so heavily with the FBI?) Sorry, but "oops, my bad, I'll pay for your door", doesn't cut it. They violated this woman's Constitutional rights since they, in fact, did not have a warrant to enter the apartment they entered. It took them 30 minutes to realize their stupidity probably because they were too busy trashing the entire apartment looking for the drugs that were next door. Being ordered to the floor and held down with a gun pointed at your head while your 3 year old daughter cries in the next room is very likely to cause PTSD. The agent responsible for the screw up needs to be disciplined and there need to be some sort of punitive damages paid to this woman.
She should sue the sh..t out of these bozos! At least they did not kill an innocent person this time.
Another absolutely fantastic reason to end the drug war.
Also, anyone cutting thru my door with a chain saw will be met with several rounds of buckshot from a 12 guage. Followed by some slugs. I will be aiming for the head as to defeat any body armour.
Well folks, having asked the question when some friends of mine had the same experience -only he was an irate truck driver woken from sleep being attacked by God Knows Who and he came out packing!!! They almost shot him dead where he stood. He was protecting his home. THEY were on the wrong street. The FBI AND the ATF let him know they owed him NOTHING BY LAW. They never paid a dime nor did they give an apology! Folks, if you think they will pay damages or apologize you ARE mistaken. The law says they don't have to and owe nothing.
You're kidding right about she probably won't have problems later in life ? Someone ripping my door apart at night, breaking into my house and laying on the floor face down at gun point and at the time i have no way to believe they are who they say...i would most likely be traumatized for life if not for yrs. The 3 yrs old being so young may forget it or it may bring suppress memories much later in life. That is scary as F$#@. It's actually a good thing she wasn't armed (even though she had every right to be inside her home) otherwise she may have been killed.
It would be interesting to know if the warrant had the right address. Where did the wrong address come from?
joemike
Violating peoples constitutional Rights is the new modern policing tactic. and it works great!
I think that the police (and this includes the federal types) should be liable for all damages for unnecessary damage. Also there should be compensation for mental anguish. The police do not always show respect and the standard procedures also do not show respect. This is why police are killed. The police need to act like "civil" servants, not thugs. Government should be paying the wronged civilians in triplicate until this is fixed.
Ok, she said she now "sleeps with a baseball bat" next to her bed? What would happen if the FBI came busting through the door again, and she comes out with a baseball bat because she doesn't know who it is? Game over, and her daughter would grow up without a mother.
I'm definitely not taking the side of the FBI here, just so we're clear, but thats probably what would happen.
Well I wonder...when the Feds got to the correct door, did they knock?
If after 2 years of investigation they hit the wrong house, no wonder there is crime. It's easy to outsmart law enforcement!
Anyone who terrorized my child would pay dearly. That's what's really upsetting about this story.
And, why a chainsaw?? I'm by no means an expert in law enforcement raid tactics, but it would seem that a loud, gas-powered (I'm assuming) device is the last tool you'd want to use when the element of surprise can mean the difference between life and death. I can't imagine that the doors of an apartment building would be so strong as to require anything beyond a simple battering ram. Just layers upon layers of idiocy in this story.
Since this is a life threatening action and could have turned into death for the victim, several agents need to be fired. That is what set the example that will cause others to be sure in the future. If this was a life threatening incident in the private sector, you can be sure that employees would be fired.
Sure mistakes happen, but when it comes to something like this we are talking two years of research by the FBI and they couldn't get it right. Most stories like this are about SWAT teams and not the FBI per se, but I'm not doing the leg work for you, just google "SWAT raids wrong house" and you'll have a few days of reading ahead of you. There's also one about a former marine that was killed when he grabbed his rifle when his wife said people (SWAT at the wrong house) were trying to break in, the cops shot him dead.
All I am saying is punish these idiots severely and you might, just might, stop this from happening again.
Yes, the FBI made a mistake. The FBI also committed a Federal felony.
The 'oops, I made a boo boo' defense does not excuse such behavior. If it did - then - we will suffer more and more premeditated 'boo boo' situations created by government agents.
This sort of thing happens more than most realize and the heavy handed tactics sometimes end in a far greater tragedy than this event did. I recall in Los Angeles a couple of years back where they conducted the same storm trooper tactics (at the wrong address) resulting the owner suffering a fatal heart attack. Their response was “sorry about that”. After all, the compensation is paid by the tax payers, not them.
A search warrant is no longer what it implies; rather it has become a license to conduct a shock invasion. Can anyone that endured such a traumatic assault ever look upon the police the same way anymore?
AG99
I guess you don't read much.
First off, i want to know if he had a license for that chain saw, secondly did he pass the 5 day waiting period and background check to buy it, and if he got his badge out of a Cracker Jacks Box.
A chain saw at MY door would result in dead cops, i have antique ammunition, legal to own with no special license, and body armor and chest plates wont stop it. and its in high power 30.06 rounds . Ill give you a hint, some has black tips , some red tips, and some red and black tips.
Stupid Cops only show how the entire system is run by idiots.
If the FBI is now doing drug raids, what's the DEA doing?
Too many cooks in the kitchen? I thought we all combined as a happy family under the Homeland Security umbrella?
This is NOT an uncommon occurence. The ATF does it on a regular basis. The ATF,by some obscure law, is exempt from prosecution in such incidents. I know of an incident in which they got the house number correct but they were on the wrong street! The homeowner and his wife were severely beaten, detained without medical attention for four hours, after which they were hospitalized for injuries. Their home sustained $60,000 in real damages, and the ATF was declared exempt from any/all liability. The FBI may not have the same "Get Out Of a Jam Free Card" as the ATF. Let's hope not!!! Regardless of the agency, this is morally and fundamentally deplorable and inexcusable!
First step, get the right FREAKIN address and make sure your FBI agents know which door to saw through! What a bunch of numbnuts! I would sue for mental torture and a very large sum of money!
And after Dereks first 357 round he will no longer be posting because the next fifty will be the courtesy of the United States Government.
The war on drugs is no longer about the drugs. It is about perpetuating a bureaucracy that is ineffective and is unsustainable, from a performance standpoint. Drugs are just as easy to get now as they have ever been. Law enforcement is the biggest advocate for our drug laws - it's all about the agency budget.
At least they didn't kill anyone. This time. I hope the woman gets a big settlement. And here we all thought that the FBI had their act together better than local law enforcement.
What ever happened to knocking first and then presenting the warrant?
Good lord, what a bunch of bleeding hearts. I'm not saying not to discipline the people responsible, but this isn't 9/11. Blowing it out of proportion only makes law enforcement's job that much harder. Mistakes happen. If you want a flawless society, you're out of luck. This time there was no real harm done so learn from it and move on. Don't make it out to be some constitutional crisis when it isn't.
(And no, "AG" doesn't stand for anything but my initials. I wanted a neutral handle.)
The thing you have to remember here is the Unholy Three - BATF, FBI and Homeland Security are a law unto themselves. Our politicians set it up that way and the Obama White-house has refined the process by bringing in Holder and The Justice Department to run the cover-ups. If you fire on these people, no matter how justified you might be, they will kill you. If you think this is paranoia think back. Do the names Ruby Ridge and Waco mean anything to you. These people resisted and died in the process. In more recent times Operation Fast and Furious caused the death of a young law enforcement officer and the investigation into who knew what when is stalled by the Obama White-house and Eric Holder at Justice. If you want honesty, you first have to rid yourselves of the thieves.
Not saying this isn't true, but can you link me to somewhere that shows this? I find it hard to believe the people they traumatize never get a dime in compensation.
Doesn't anyone remember the x-marine that was shot and killed because the cops had the wrong address?? They said... oooops and got away with murder.
Respectfully, AG99, I don't think anyone would disagree that mistakes happen. The problem is that this mistake was entirely preventable, AND similar mistakes have happened far more often than you seem to realize. Thus, it would appear that they haven't learned from it. Consequently, in that context, it would not be entirely unreasonable to characterize it as a "constitutional crisis." Nor does it make one a "bleeding heart."
PDK: Okay, I'll accept that. I don't remember reading much about these sorts of things, but if you're paying attention and say it's so, I'll take your word for it. I would expect the punitive damages I mentioned above to be a deterrent, but if they're immune from prosecution in these cases, then I guess not.
Aren't FBI agents required to pass some sort of literacy tests? How did these clowns slip through?
Fair enough, AG99. Peace
as much mone y as our government spends at least 1 of the agents could have a gps unit now no more mastakes
@ bubba-1946427 Nope, sorry. If he made it out alive from the shootout, no charges would be brought against, two, if there were charges, no jury would find him guilty. There are a number of Supreme Court rulings where they state its the citizens RIGHT AND DUTY to defend themselves AGAINST law enforcement when they (law enforcement) are in the wrong. I have the right to resist arrest when I have done nothing wrong.
@Radical 1 I hope your talking about explosive tips for the 30 odd 6 rounds. Black tips are armored piercing. Those will not penetrate mark IV plate armor. They may cause internal bleeding or bruising, but no flesh penetrating by the round itself.
It's an Apartment !!!.....Couldn't they just ask the Landlord or Apartment Manager for the key ??? I mean they been working the case for 2 years....Maybe the Landlord would have said..."Oh no, a single mom with a little girl lives in that apartment.....the guy you are looking for lives in the apartment next door"
I can just picture the conversation next door (at the real drug dealers house)
Stoned out of their mind, Drug dealer #1: "Hey Charlie, what the hell is all that noise?"
Drug dealer #2: "Damn neighbors raising hell I guess." I say we call the police.
Drug dealer #1: Probably not a good idea, but what the hell sure, hey what is the number to 911?"
Good job FBI!
Brought to you by the American 'War on Drugs,' FAILING Americans for over FORTY YEARS!
Two years of research and they didn't know which door? They didn't know immediately that they had the wrong person - hysterical woman with no drugs or weapons? They didn't know their error upon finding a 3 year old kid in the bedroom - no drugs or weapons? No wonder so many calls to 911 for police to help with domestic problems ends up with someone shot and killed by police.
.....
This also happened in Missisippi, where Jefferson Davis county police raided the wrong home, didn't announce themselves, and caught gunfire coming in the door. The citizen, Corey Maye, was sentenced to death but later had his sentence commuted for attempted murder of a police officer. He is trying to get his conviction overturned as we speak.
AG99: "Besides, does it "keep happening"? Is this commonplace? Not that I've heard."
It happens so often, many large police departments and the FBI have a special unit that does nothing but go out and repair the damage done by wrongly executed search and arrest warrants. THAT is how OFTEN it happens.
They could have just knocked on the door. 30 years ago when they came to my house with a warrant to search for weed they knocked like gentlemen, I opened the door and let them in, I handed them the joint I was smoking when I answered the door and then sat there drinking beer with my neighbor as they tore my house apart. As they we leaving they apologized for making a mess. All I had was the one joint and the search warrant was for 125 pounds so they didn't even bother taking me in. They never paid for the mess they made or gave me my only joint back, but they were gentlemen and never even pulled their guns, they treated me as though I was INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. That was pre ronnies war on weed. Now they will send the swat team in with automatic weapons for one joint. And they wonder why the country is going broke.
Reno 911 just aired this same scenario in last week's episode.
Is this what our FBI is using in their training curriculum?
Heaven help us.
I'll bet all the noise next door put a big damper on the fun in the apartment they were supposed to bust. I also bet it wasn't an hour before those guys moved out. Two years down the drain. Nice try guys!
She should be glad that she is not living in Indiana. They could have searched her home and still arrested her and charged her with something.
@AG99 - Oh yeah, right. It was happening so often in California that they had to call a halt to the raids. There, they would drive an armored vehicle through the side of the house, leaving the entire house damaged beyond repair. And a chainsaw??? What if someone was at the door in the house. Would they cut them in half with the saw too? What rational person is really going to believe that someone wielding a chainsaw for a weapon is really from the FBI just because they are shouting it? It's more like the Zetas and I certainly would never believe any goon with a chainsaw. What a bunch of complete morons. They terrorize people worse than real terrorists. They belong in Guantanamo for a good stint before being sent to some super-max prison somewhere where some 300 lb fat Bubba can have his way with them.
At least they didn't shoot the woman's dog or even her, as has been done before when the police have had the wrong house. I remember one incident in Cleveland years ago when the cops broke-in, shot the family dog, held an entire family in their underwear on the floor for an hour, brutalized the homeowner in front of his wife and kids, and even evacuated the guy that they really wanted from his house next door. I also remember another incident years ago when a Detroit STRESS unit (Swat in Detroit) broke down the door at a Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy's house at the same time that the deputy was having a card party with several other deputies there, and the end result was fatalities on both sides. And then there is the case of that unarmed ex-Marine that was recently blown-away in his own living room by 50 shots?
Frankly the problem here is our fascination with guns, our fascination with the ability to conduct war, along with many members of our law enforcement community acting like Rambo and suspecting that the average citizen has a huge weapons stockpile behind their front door.
Whatever happened to acting in a civil manner when attempting to conduct an arrest? You stakeout and surround the place, and then try to get them when they come out. If the suspect starts shooting first then you have a reason to use your firearms. There is just too much potential for a problem with these heavily-armed midnight no-knock raids, and getting the house number wrong in the dark has been one of those problems that has occurred over and over again. Here in Denver they attacked the wrong house and shot and killed the homeowner who was checking-out a noise at the back door with his gun in his hand totally legally under Colorado's "make my day" law. Is the NRA going to try to defend that guy's right to try to defend his property with a gun too? Because if the cops have the wrong house, you are going to get shot at first if you have a gun in your hand trying to defend your own rights!!!
Whatever happened to that kinder and gentler version of America from years ago?
... a chainsaw? That's SOP these days? That seems pretty failtastic, especially when trying to break into a drug dealer's home. I mean, are you just standing there, sawing away, hoping he doesn't put a few 9mm rounds through the door? What happened to the good old battering ram followed by a tactical squad?
or a knock on the door, always can be children like the one in Detroit where the 6yr old girl was killed by a bullet needlesly and that was wrong house too, to many tv shows on tv everyone wants the action
A two year investigation and they still get it wrong! Can't beat that for crime fighting. They need to watch a few more movies to get it right.
If my door was attacked with a chainsaw, I'd probably assume the zombie apocalypse. There is something about a chainsaw that completely lacks subtlety for gaining entry to a place. Seriously, is the punchline gonna be that they were executing a sneak 'n' peak search warrant?
Nice to know the FBI are getting their ideas from horror movies. But I'm more of a traditionalist and liked it better back when they used hatchets to bust down a door like in "The Shining." "HERE'S JOHNNY!"
If "they" (whoever) come at your house with a chainsaw, just keep a sledgehammer in easy reach. You can bend the bar, and then the chainsaw will be inoperable and won't be able to be retrieved through the same hole (because the chain will snag in the cut). Then you will have a few seconds where you can demand to see a warrant.
This type of abuse is horrific, but not as bad as the SWAT team shooting your barking dog because it was "aggressive" - that seems to be their standard M.O. when they find a dog in a house during a raid. An absolutely disgusting abuse of power.
If they already had her on the floor at gun point, why did they have to still cut the door down? Did the guy just want to use his tool?
I agree with Chris. I have a loaded shotgun three feet from my bed. Somebody cutting through my front door with a chainsaw would scare the crap out of me. So who would be to blame if I blasted a couple rounds of buckshot through the door? I'm sure I wouldn't be able to hear "this is the FBI" over the quiet hum of a cutting chainsaw.
After seeing the door on the video, why didn't they just call Chuck Norris to kick it down for them?
Actually, Chuck probably wouldn't have even had to kick it, just a mean look from him would likely cause the door to turn to dust.
The supposed reason for violent entry, rather than knocking and trying to serve the warrant first is that it might give the suspects time to flush the evidence down the toilet. The real reason is that it gives the authorities a thrill to use violent methods and terrorize the suspects. They could simply shut off the water to the building before knocking. That gives the occupants one flush to try to get rid of the evidence, and if that's all the drugs that was present, such a small amount doesn't justify a life-threatening entry anyway.
It is by no means just to stop them from flushing drugs, it's also to ensure they don't have time to arm themselves or barricade themselves in.
They used a chainsaw, I am sure a ramming bar would have been the quicker way to enter. I am wondering if they got the actual dealer or if he excused himself as he walked by them.
How long does it take to chainsaw through a door? Seems to me like it would be long enough to allow me to fetch my loaded firearm and discharge a few shots... Unless the door jambs are steel, a good solid kick (or battering ram) would give them access much more quickly.
Probably tazed her and the child on the way out of the door. Oh wait, there was no door left.
Heeeeeeres Johnny!
Hell...why bother to verify the address there FBI...just cut down any damn dorr.....what a bunch of morons!
S-man
my thoughts exactly.
Just which apartment were they watching for TWO years? What address did they have on the warrant? Oh and why did they continue to cut the door once they had the woman at gunpoint on the floor?
Unfortunately, this kind of mistake is not unusual. What is unusual is the offer to pay for the damage. What normally occurs is the property owner is told to file a claim for the damages to the appropriate department and the claim will be considered after an investigation is completed. A twelve to eighteen month delay in payment is not unusual either. The attractive thing about dynamic entry is that all the toys get to be used. There are hundreds of cases on record where injury and death occured in a mistaken address assault.
If I remember right several years back a raid hit the wrong address in Dallas and killed a whole family of Mexicans. Buy big boys big toys and they have to play with them, right?
We're sooooo sorry we couldn't be expected to actually get the address right, and then proceed to rip down the door to the wrong house. And our bad for holding a gun to your head while we continued to screw up for at least a half hour, putting your 3 year old daughter in harm's way.
But we'll pay for a new door - ain't we just the greatest?
Thugs with badges, highwaymen on the Federal payroll. Fighting a war on drugs that can never be won.
Buffoons - the lot of them
Everyone makes mistakes. The fact that it took 30 mins to realize their mistake is the problem.
And why did she have to stay face down on the floor the whole time instead of sitting up and handcuffed? Did they think she was a drug dealing Ninja?
No, the mistake wasn't the 30 minutes. The mistake was getting the wrong apartment after conducting a TWO YEAR investigation.
No, the mistake is these damned no knock "warrants." I certainly do not support the killing of LEOs but I also don't support small children or other innocents being in harms way. There are far too many less dangerous ways to observe and apprehend thugs, however such methods probably will not satisfy the adrenalin rush these cops crave.
Sadly, it is inevitable that one of these forays into the wrong dwelling, specifically an armed citizen's dwelling will result in the death of an officer.
Is all of this drama really worth it?
Any cops killed in a raid like this would be killed in self defense if you ask me. That's how I'd vote on a jury.
Think about it, someone chainsawing your door in the middle of the night, I'd be shooting first and asking questions later. Anyone chainsawing your door does not have good intentions for you once they get inside.
If anyone pulls a gun to defend their home in one of these raids, the only one that's going to get killed is the home owner.
FACT
If it was my home yes, I may end up dead but there would be a pile of police bodies to wade through also. Those vests don't stop everything and if you shoot low with a shotgun and take their legs out first guess what ? You get more of them and confuse the others because their backup will be totally bewildered. Like Mike Tyson said," everybody has a plan until they get hit".
Northern, that's exactly why they don't let people who kill cops go before juries. They make sure to kill them so there will be no chance of them being able to mount a defense.
Sorry. Everyone makes mistakes, but this is a mistake made with lethal force on the line. There's no room for "forgive and forget" on a mistake like that. The apology should be delivered to the woman wrapped around the badge of the agent who made the mistake, because this mistake was no less serious than if the agent had fired blindly into a crowd. The fact that they didn't shoot the woman was simply good luck for them all.
The woman is very lucky they didn't come in shooting as some of these jackboot drug squads have done in the past. End this stupid war on drugs. It only serves to keep these types of police units well armed and empowered to violate our basic rights.
Next time hold the map right side up.
There are so many financial crimes out there that the FBI should be tackling instead of drug sales. Street drug sales are not going to stop and we cannot afford to keep locking people up any more. So, would it be such a terrible thing for the FBI to focus on heroin & cocaine importers and leave distribution and everything else alone?
The drug war is sick. The people that drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes are arresting humans for marijuana. Its crazy. Fight for justice and freedom. Its my body you son of bit_hes. I workout and eat right. I don't smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. I give time and money to charity. I plant trees to help reforestation and for wildlife. I pick up litter out in public when i see it. By any objective standard I'm more responsible human being than most. Its a sad world. Its all about control.
The control is yours. The choices we make have consequences. I choose not to intake any recreational drug, be it nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, or anything else. I am in control of my life. I made the choice.
You are not in "control" when they bust down your door in the middle of the night, especially with a chainsaw.
All that "I don't do drugs" crap won't do you any good when the cops have the wrong address which happens to be yours.....
We're all so mighty proud of you for being in such control..........up to the point where it might give you enough feeling of self-righteousness to look down and condone actions of police like these. Hopefully you haven't succumbed to that, nor can I accuse you of such. If you have, however, you are as guilty as them. They cannot get away with such actions without enough of the population thinking they are doing some good.
EXACTLY! If it were not for the population being duped into believing all the lies about drugs the govt. wouldn't be able to keep these jackboots running around at taxpayer expense. So I agree it is those who buy into this drug war crap that are just as guilty as the cops and govt.
Good news is that it appears many have woke up to this game and are ready to call the govt. on it.
Meanwhile, the real suspect was tipped off by the running chainsaw & yelling agents, and slipped out the fire escape & got away! Way to go FBI!! At least you have enough class to pay for the damage to the wrong door.
Not necessarily. Their PR people have enough skill at damage control to say they'll pay for the damage. There's a difference.
Maybe they sent the men in black with their magic memory erasing wand and called all the neighbors in for a little meeting.
Might not need to use the fire escape if he/she had enough time to flush all the evidence!
Two year operation and then they get the wrong address?? And hold a woman and her child at gunpoint? After two years the FBI should at least, have pictures of the people that frequent the house.
If people broke into my house I would shoot at them and more than likely get shot myself. Thanks FBI - the difference between the bad guys and the good guys is getting fuzzier.
Da'Guy... Agreed. Think about it folks; you wake, to the sound of a chainsaw, totally discombobulated and freaked. If I had a gun for protection, I'd more than likely get myself killed by a bunch of over-excited dip@!$%#s.
Even if they're trying to yell "FBI! FBI!" over the sound of the chainsaw, are you going to drop your weapon? NO! A psycho with a chainsaw might yell whatever he wanted to do his deed.
People, can you say: POLICE STATE
Police State! Worse than Germany because they have lots of neat new toys now with which to enact it!
They are using Nogales, AZ to test a surveillance system that will continuously monitor 4 square miles or provide scanning monitoring for up to ten square miles. The technology also includes retina scanners that are reportedly accurate up to 50 feet away with the person being scanned running. Its called 'Wide Area Surveillance System'. Plans are also underway to fit the system to those Predator drones and test-fly that over Nogales, AZ.They are planning to roll out the WASS nationwide in areas that are usually considered hot spots; they would be particularly useful along the border, to monitor communes and cult encampments in hard-to reach places like mountains, search canyons and ravines and snowy mountainsides for victims of avalanches and other disasters. The infrared scanning can see through walls and roofs, giving the government a clear picture of who is inside a house, how many, and what these people are doing inside their houses. They'll be able to see who's cooking meth or growing pot in the basement, for example, who is brewing homemade moonshine in the woods behind the house, see who is breaking into someone's house, see a child molester molesting a child.
Also currently being tested are portable DNA scanners. Meant to be utilized at airports, it'll require that the person being tested open their mouth for an inside-the-cheek swab which will then be placed in a portable DNA analyzer and return results. Most of the initial results will be enrollment results but if the DNA submitted happens to be a match or partial match for someone on DHS's database who is, for instance, currently detained at Guantanamo Bay or currently detained as an illegal immigrant, that person can be detained as well. This is primarily for use on children coming through with parents/guardians, DNA analyzers will make sure the child is related to the guardian/parent and is not being smuggled or trafficked into the US.
Portable DNA scanners are going to be used mostly at airports; in addition to the regular TSA screening, you'll be required to give DNA before getting on the plane, and so will your wife and child. This will actually be a good thing; if the plane crashes while you're on it, they'll be able to match the DNA of your remains to the preflight DNA screening with no guessing required. My mom and dad adopted me, but never wanted me to know and never told me; if DNA screening had been around when I was young, I would have found out they weren't actually my parents a lot sooner; parents absolutely shouldn't have the right or the choice to keep that kind of information from their children. (sarcasm) By the same token, a mother shouldn't be keeping the fact that the child has a different father from the child or the Dad either, or the dad keep the fact that the person a child thinks is 'Mom' is actually 'Stepmom'. (more sarcasm).
Another bit of technology they are currently testing in an 'undisclosed location' in the Northeast is what they called a Future Attribute Screening Technology, FAST, which will scan a person as far as 50 feet away for changes in body temperature, respiration, heart rate, eye movement and other factors to determine if they are acting in a suspicious manner. Agents watching the scanners can then direct ground agents to arrest the person befoe they can commit an illegal act. Early tests utilizing DHS employees who were told to act a certain way indicated hat the machine was 70% accurate in detecting persons who were told to act suspiciously.
DHS is going to utilize FAST in airports to figure out who is nervous getting on a plane--the FAST system utilizes retina scanning, infrared, pulse and respiration monitor, so someone out of breath with pulse pounding and eyes shifting around rapidly is certainly about to commit a terrorist act. If you have a machine that tells you that someone will commit a crime, then you can arrest them and put them in jail before they commit that crime, which could serve to wipe out most obvious types of crime right away. FAST can be used on buses to predict which passengers will cause a disruption and transportation officers can meet the bus at the next stop, taking the potentially disruptive passenger away to jail; can be used to tell which businessman walking into a diplomatic session will be carrying a briefcase bomb. There will be no more chances for assassination plots like 'Operation Valkyrie' and of course no more 9-11, unless the terrorists are specifically trained to act normal and can control their breathing enough to appear calm and beat the scanner. After all, the scanner has 70% accuracy!
The retina scanning can be incorporated to scan a person's eyes as they sit at a red light, predicting who is going to run that red light before they do it, printing that person a ticket for running that red light before they even do it. Traffic cameras will be able to see a person's shifting eyes, predicting that they will cut off another vehicle before they do it; and they can record the pulse of the other driver, and if the pulse speeds up after the person is cut off, the police can arrest the other driver for a potential road rage incident before the driver can actually commit said incident.
Then you add in the NDAA for FY2012 that got signed into law on Dec 31 (keep your eye on the news on Friday, there's a mass nationwide protest being planned against it) allowing the US military to detain anyone suspected of terrorism, American citizen or not, on home soil or off, without charge or trial.
Add in also Homeland Security's current definition of terrorist, which includes alternate media, food and weapons stockpilers, lawful acts of civil disobedience (think Rosa Parks refusing to get up and give up her seat, that's lawful civvil disobedience) and even Odinists (those who worship the Norse God Odin) and anti-technology proponents (those who don't approve of and don't use technology, because, don't you know, they are blowing up buildings right and left in the name of anti-technology or in the name of the Norse God Odin'!
And since President Obama refused to sign the NDAA as it was until the section requiring mandatory military detention of US citizens was removed, the wording of the bill was changed to 'discretionary' if you are a citizen.
Now HR3166, also called the Enemy Expatriation Act, will strip you of your citizenshipn (or revoke it if you are naturalized) if you are caught engaging in or advocating for any actions which run counter to the US or its allies interests. Which, when taken along with the NDAA, would then REQUIRE the US military to detain you fopr suspected terrorism.
For everyone out there who said they would grab their guns if their home was invaded, please please reconsider. Think about it; if this woman had drawn a gun and shot at the invading FBI, they would have fired back, killed her, and then this article would have read, 'Armed Woman Assaults FBI Executing Valid Search Warrant'. Only in the alternative media would the truth about the address nbeing the wrong one would have come out, and since those 'alternative media' websites are currently being moniotored by FBI and Homeland Security for 'possible piracy and copyright infringement' and 'possible links to terrorist activity' those sites would have their domain names seized and under the NDAA she would be considered a 'terroist', have her citizenship taken and wind up in Guantanamo bay without a charge or trial.
Do you copy/paste that same huge minority report in every story you comment on ?? Infrared doesn't give a "clear picture" of anything except changes in room temperature. The police want you to think they can see you in the kitchen whipping up some grub at noon in florida but the fact is these systems are quite limited when used to "see" through walls.
End the failed drug war. End big pharmas control over the laws of this country.... Wait... its also the law enforcement itself that stands to loose MILLIONS if prohibition stops. To bad for us living in this FREE country w thugs in black preforming dynamic entry on a single mom and her child.
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Did I read it correctly...? A two year investigation and they STILL got the wrong address? Brilliant!
A two year investigation and they didn't even get the address correct?! As for paying, they certainly should - breaking and entering, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime - I think the payment should be about 10 years.
Unfortunately, the law protects the lawbreakers.
That was exactly what I was going to say as well. Two years and in that time they couldn't get the right address? Seriously? How inept is our FBI? They absolutely should pay damages, if they are going to break through someone's door with a chainsaw and hold a person at gunpoint, they damn well better double check that address.
The raid was a two year investigation. If that lady lived there for a year or two, the FBI sure got it wrong. Makes you wonder what else they got wrong. I'd say the bust was a total flop, and some heads are going to be in trouble.
I can only imagine the sense of fear overcoming the innocent little 3-year in the next room. That's a very susceptible age. Hearing the ruckus caused by the FBI, the sounds of her mother screaming, and being left alone for who-knows-how-long.....well, it's enough to traumatize nearly anyone let alone a precious little child.
The FBI should pay for immediate counseling and also pay her way through college. They owe the kid that much.
While I agree with you, keep in mind that the FBI is part of the Federal government, and the only ones that would actually be paying are the taxpayers -- that's where the Fed gets its money. So I'm sure they won't really mind if "they" have to pay. they'll blow it off.
The problem is that all of these clowns (FBI, BATFE, etc.) think they're Elliot Ness or something. They learn forced entry rules, but don't have the sense to know when and when not to use them.
Remember the Koresh compound at Waco? I saw that go down live on TV. Janet Reno wanted people to see how she was going to "rescue the children." And they all died.
Or the Randy Weaver raid? He wound up with a dead wife and, I believe, a dead child.
The Federal government is getting out of hand in the name of "keeping us safe." The Constitution defines the limited number of powers of the Federal government, and the 4th Amendment pretty well limits this kind of action. I believe that the law actually prohibits this kind of entry unless there is a crime IN PROGRESS. A "suspected" drug activity (even after a two-year "investigation") is not the same as "a crime in progress."
How about we the tax payers demand that these agents be forced to repay every dime of the money spent on their botched operation and then have them reassigned to a position more fitting to their skill level, perhaps as a janitor
Wait a min. If you read the whole thing and then think about this part: The raid was called Operation Red Wolf, a two-year investigation. They spent 2 years investigating and STILL got the wrong place. WTF
Crazy isn't it.
That's what happens when they smoke some of that confiscated crack before they go on a raid.
about thirty years ago a contractor for the city of Oakland tore down a house by mistake. The one they were supposed to demolish was in the next street. The house they buldozed was fully furnished and had power and water hooked up. the one they were supposed to remove had burned several years earlier, no one bothered to question the order when they saw the house was inhabited. they destroyed it and over 100,000 dollars in antiques, a 280,000 dollar mistake.
happened here too threw a flash grenade landed on the kids bed oh sorry wrong address but its ok we just had the wrong place well next time knock on the door
Great! The landlord will get his door fixed. Who is going to pay for the PTSD therapy Sanchez and her daughter now need?
Call a attorney and sue the $hit out of them!!!!!
I was thinking the same thing. Who is going to pay for the YEARS of therapy that the daughter will need? And how is Mom going to convince the daughter that ploice are the GOOD guys after this? Who is going to pay for the Mom's trauma in being held AT GUNPOINT while her child screamed for half an hour? As a parent, let me tell you that I would be on the phone to a lawyer to sue the INDIVIDUALS who were involved in this. You can't sue the FBI, but the people who didn't bother to read the warrant are sue-able. Get an assistant DA involved to criminally prosecute the individuals involved for breaking and entering, kidnapping, attempted assault with a deadly weapon under color of law... whatever they can come up with to make an example of these bozos for not being able to READ.
I would probably also contact the US Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to investigate civil rights violations and constitutional violations on the part of the FBI agents who took part in this raid.
Thanks to sovereign immunity and the FTCA, suing the federal government is a nearly hopeless endeavor
Another case of the FBI NOT doing their job. They should have checked, double checked, triple checked before entering that apartment. If I was this lady I would sue the heck of of the FBI. SUE, SUE, SUE.
That could get you shot at my house.
At least you would die in honor.
This was only a two year investigatrion. How do you think they would know the address already.
Sounds like a scene out of Get Smart!!! FBI imitates the keystone cops. Yip another victory on the war on drugs!!!DUH!!!!!
Sounds like a scene out of Get Smart!!!
Love it bw!
Get Smart was a comedy. Something tells me that this woman, while laying on the floor at gunpoint with her child crying hysterically in the next room and thinking she may be shot at anytime, thought it was ANYTHING BUT A COMEDY. I also doubt very much that she will consider it a 'funny experience' -- EVER. Also, I was unaware that Massachusetts was such a hotbed of drug crime that these kinds of tactics were necessary -- a CHAINSAW FOR GOD SAKE?????
Another "War on Drugs" epic fail!