Posted: 5/30/2016 8:07:57 PM EDT
[#17]
Post from the homeowner. He's been flooding the interwebs with it. I have my doubts about the accuracy of the story.
Peoria Police Department - Arizona
The ones who are supposed to "protect and serve" us are also the same ones who laugh and point guns in our faces while they violate our rights and illegally tear apart our homes in search for a reason to charge us with crimes that we didn't commit. Excessive force and harassment is not the answer. Last night at about 10 pm, my family and I were forced to exit our home with no explanation and no search warrant. Our son K was accused of an alleged assault away from our home - not in our home or anywhere near-by. Our son K received a call from an officer and he agreed to come outside to talk to the officer. We never got one knock on our door. As soon as we opened the door for our son to go out, we realized there was a SWAT team outside dressed like the military with machine guns drawn and about 80 cops lined up and down our street. My boyfriend expressed to the sergeant on the phone that he was concerned for our sons’ safety and would like to call our attorney. They next thing we know, we are being told to exit our home or they will enter by force. After our son K exited the house first with his hands up. They then instructed everybody inside to exit the premises. This included me, my boyfriend, our son K's (2) 17-year old friends, and our 13 year old son - who is also a minor. We exited our home as instructed with our hands up, cooperating, never resisting, and showing no threat. My boyfriend (THE HOMEOWNER) was placed in handcuffs with excessive aggression and placed in the back of a police cruiser down the street for 3 hours as they ignored every question, every health concern, and every demand for an attorney. The police sat the rest of us on the curb and took all of our phones so we could not record what was happening or call our attorneys. They said THEY had cameras and that's all the video footage we needed. This made me feel very uncomfortable as it seemed like what they were doing was wrong and illegal. My son K was automatically arrested without any questioning and without reading him his rights. His (2) 17 year old friends were put in handcuffs without any answer as to why they were being detained and were denied permission to call their parents for over 2 hours. The officers also taunted these boys trying to get them to act out. Me, my son K's 2 friends, and our 13 year old son were placed on the curb for hours in front of our home while they ransacked it. We were all questioned, except for my boyfriend WHO OWNS THE HOME AND IS K's FATHER. This is very suspicious as you would think it would be important for them to question the person who owns the home that they are investigating. They put caution tape around our house indicating it was a crime scene. After they took down our names and phone numbers, they told us we were "free to go" but we were not allowed inside of our own home. This was at 4 am. We had no shoes, no vehicle, and no phones. After 45 mins of arguing with the officers to locate our phones, they finally gave them back to us but would not let us get our shoes. My boyfriend, our 13 year old son and I had no choice but to walk a mile and a half barefoot to my boyfriends’ fathers’ house. As soon as we got there we got a call telling us to come back because they had finished. Upon our arrival, they gave us a copy of the search warrant and papers for each room that was searched with the items listed that were seized. Our house was torn apart from top to bottom for 3 items that were found, 1 in a car out front of our residence and 2 in K’s bedroom. The search warrant only stated our son K’s name and NOBODY ELSE so why were we all treated like criminals and why did they invade our privacy and personal space? What’s also confusing to me is that they took $3000 of my son K's graduation money as part of the evidence to an assault? Our attorney said that the force that was used was excessive, unnecessary and it seems as if there are other motives behind their actions, along with many civil rights violations. What happened last night was pure terrorism and harassment to me and my loved ones and now I see why so many people fear the police and why they have such a negative reputation in today’s society. If you expect civilians to obey the law, you should set an example and do the same. View Quote
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