SWAT raids another wrong home, calls error ''mistake"

WSVN
Posted: 2008-04-10 18:51:58

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NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Authorities are chalking up an Immigration and Customs Enforcement SWAT Team's misunderstanding of a street address and subsequent wrongful raid as an "honest mistake."

According to the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Task Force, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement SWAT Team was scheduled to execute an ATF-issued search warrant at an apartment located at 2627 NW 49th St. Wednesday night, but accidentally raided the residence at 2627 NW 49th Terrace instead.

Neighbors of the incorrectly raided home said two sisters and a few young kids were inside the unit during the raid, including a mother and her baby.

Despite the mother's plea to authorities that they had stormed the wrong address, agents proceeded to search the home. "Her son was in the bedroom sleeping and she was in the living room," said a female relative of the mother. "She said she looked outside of the window and was on her way to open the door, but [SWAT members] had already kicked it in with guns [in hand]. Meanwhile, she's telling them 'Please, my son is in the bedroom.'"

A male relative of the mother claimed that the officers carried out a lengthy, aggressive raid before realizing their error. "They threw two concussion grenades in the apartment," said the gentleman. "They went to the next street, the right address about 20 minutes after they went to the wrong address."

The SWAT Team eventually made their way to the correct apartment a block over, collecting illegal weapons during their second go-around.

The occupants of the initially raided apartment are seeking legal advice on the matter.

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