Author Topic: Cops leave 75 year old grandmother in handcuffs in botched wrong house raid  (Read 250 times)

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Cops Leave 75-Year-Old Grandmother in Handcuffs In Botched, Wrong House Raid

Posted By Philip Hodges on Apr 25, 2014 | 2 Comments

In an early morning raid, Virginia State Police barged in to Ruth Hunter’s apartment, handcuffed her with ties and began interrogating her about drugs or if anyone she knows, even her granddaughter, was involved. Local CBS affiliate WTVR reported:

She said officers told her during the raid what they were looking for, and court documents also show the information. She said she had nothing to do with the investigation.

Virginia State Police said a drug investigation is what prompted a Henrico County magistrate to issue a warrant for an apartment in the 5600 block of Crenshaw road.

The woman claims that officers ultimately arrested a man who lives two doors down from her.

“I thought someone was breaking in to rob or kill me,” Hunter said.

Seconds after her front door flies open Hunter said she heard a voice yell “Police!”
 



“…Took my hands with a tie-thing and said ‘You’re under arrest’ and started asking questions,” she recalled. “The more I told them I didn’t know these people, the more he continued.”

Hunter said she’s lived at the Village at Arbors apartment complex in Henrico for about six years, the whole time she’s kept to herself she says, only speaking when spoken to by others. She said she was shocked at the line of questioning from State Police, on the morning of April 10.

“Asked me if I ever stored drugs for anybody — I said how dare you insult my integrity.”

Hunter said that is when police started asking about her loved ones.

“He asked if maybe my granddaughter was involved. I sat up in my bed like how dare you try and bring my granddaughter into this stuff. She’s a law abiding citizen, works for a living, she don’t even like coming here,” Hunter said.

Hunter said that police left her apartment and went two doors down, while she was left handcuffed with a zip tie.
The fiancé of the man arrested says she was there at the time, and asked CBS 6 to hide her identity

“Just so happened they came to the apartment and they got it mixed up,’ she said.

State Police cite an ongoing drug investigation as why they can’t comment any further.

The warrant does list Hunter`s address and apartment number, but she believes this court document proves that she did nothing wrong. Because it says police did not find anything inside.

Hunter says the early morning raid haunts her to the point where she’s moving out, but not before delivering this message to those she says stood over top of her as she was frightened out of bed

“I’m very irritated and angry, he never said I’m sorry, never apologized for having the wrong house…he said you got to get someone to fix that door.”

I know that mistakes like this are going to happen, but the least they could have done is apologize for the mix-up and fix any property they damaged.

These sorts of raids have always bothered me. It’s in these types of no-knock, oftentimes middle-of-the-night raids that innocent people end up dying, because they think someone’s trying to break in their house (actually, people are trying to break in). The police barge in, see a resident with a gun, assume it must be a criminal (because only a criminal would try to defend himself or his family with a gun), and put a few dozen rounds in his torso. And then, after all that, they realize it must be the wrong house. No apologies. Nothing. The police felt their lives were threatened, so everyone gives them a pass and a pat on the back for bravery.

I’m grateful that nothing like that happened to this 75-year-old grandmother. They did hog-tie her, according to police policy, for “officer safety.”

“To Protect and to Serve” has been a motto that’s been associated with the police for a long time. I think it’s still in effect; it’s just that it never specified whom they were to protect and serve. It used to be they protected and served their communities. Now, they protect and serve themselves.

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