Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Very sad occurrence. For those that have not served warrants, you might be surprised at how many homes do not display an address.  This was a trailer park, and it is very common for there not to be addresses at trailer parks. That is why the search warrants we served, even way back in the day, included a very specific description of the home.....color of the paint, color of the roof, description of the type of structure, etc.  Photos were taken, if possible to assure we had the correct home.  If an informant was used, he was required to verify the correct address. I required my officers to not "tear up" the home in the search, as much as possible.  It is not necessary to dump all the drawers on the floor, turn over beds, etc.  We did a thorough, but not destructive search. Common sense can prevail, if you want it to. It can but trailer parks can be impossible... I have been working a case on some mexicans that live in a trailer park where you lease the trailer from one owner who owns most of the trailers in the park.  None of the streets in the park have a name.  Maybe one in ten of the trailers have any sort of number on them.  There is a central mailbox...but no names on anything, just A, B, C, D, etc.  The mailman has no idea who lives where.   Just to make it fun, the residents all use false ID with stolen SSNs, names, etc so you can never really know who is who until you have them in custody and can print them and compare that to the ICE records.   Tons of people standing around all day makes it right at impossible to drive around and look without being spotted. We are somewhat using Google Earth but even that has serious flaws because the streets aren't named.   People forget...criminals go out of their way not to be found and that includes things like car tags, house #s, etc.   In this particular context it's completely is understandable.  1st question that popped into my mind when I read this was, "How can anyone's address be distinguished in a trailer park?"  I know tailers can be numbered, but depending on the particular park, it's not always going to be 100%.  Where homes are concerned, however, I find wrong-address raids hard to accept.  In many instances, such can be chopped up to brazen stupidity.  I also do NOT like the cavalier, we-didn't-do-anything-wrong attitude some officers have protrayed in reported botched raids where innocent people have been shot & killed. There need to be checks & balances, & (criminal) consequences.  If they're going to play w/ guns, then they must be held responsible (Same goes for me).  The guilt-free passes need to end.

This is in the town I live in.  It is NOT a trailer park!

This is a subdivision that happens to have a few trailers scattered around.  This is a pricey area to live.  In this subdivision an old trailer on an 1/8 or 1/4 acre will run you 150K to 200K.

From the article in the Durango Herald newspaper.



The house on the right is Herrick’s home. The one to the left is the trailer that was supposed to be raided.  

Not very hard to tell them apart at 11am when the raid took place!  

Yeah, looks like they really dropped the ball on this one.

Quoted: Yeah, looks like they really dropped the ball on this one.

Hey, Fed:   In your Dept., how often do they make sure the U/C who swears out the w.a. is on site for the raid?

I'm hearing different things from different guys, but that (coupled with the idea implemented at burn's dept) seems like what you'd need to do to keep this from happening.

Little old lady could have had a heart attack.  She still could.   And it says she was getting agitated (no wonder, eh).   She could have wound up tased or OC'd for failure to obey orders.

What a mess.

Quoted: Quoted: 1: Cops drive to the pizza joint nearest 82 Hidden Lane . 2: Cops call pizza joint and order a pizza for 82 Hidden Lane. 3: Cops follow delivery boy. 4: Cops follow to the front door, pay for pizza, knock down door. 5: Cops eat pizza as they discuss the operation. Brilliant!

+1  

Quoted: So.... is anyone gonna say that it's her fault for not having her house address properly marked/illuminated/numbered?   No Expert

No.

However it's very prudent for people to cleary mark their addresses. Some of our area rural fire departments have started marking mail boxes posts on their own. The mail carrier may know exactly where a person lives but at night running a 911 call it can be very difficult to find the persons house.

Quoted: Quoted: So.... is anyone gonna say that it's her fault for not having her house address properly marked/illuminated/numbered?   No Expert No. However it's very prudent for people to cleary mark their addresses. Some of our area rural fire departments have started marking mail boxes posts on their own. The mail carrier may know exactly where a person lives but at night running a 911 call it can be very difficult to find the persons house.

I agree, I as just tossing it out there to see if anyone wanted to reduce the blame on the officers.  

No Expert

I think it will take a homeowner shooting a cop for this kind of thing to stop.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: So.... is anyone gonna say that it's her fault for not having her house address properly marked/illuminated/numbered?   No Expert No. However it's very prudent for people to cleary mark their addresses. Some of our area rural fire departments have started marking mail boxes posts on their own. The mail carrier may know exactly where a person lives but at night running a 911 call it can be very difficult to find the persons house. I agree, I as just tossing it out there to see if anyone wanted to reduce the blame on the officers.   No Expert

Hitting the right house is not that difficult if the persons invovled in the raid use common sense about these things. Pictures of the house, video of the house, a diagram of the area, the UC goes along with the team.

I've never liked the idea of some agency or investigator dropping off a warrant service and not sending their own people on the raid to make sure the correct house is hit instead of sitting back at the office or off scene somewhere.

Even in cases where multiple task forces come together for massive raids there needs to be officers attached to each team who know the area to guide the other teams.

In the prebriefing the UC's should provide diagrams of the interior of the house, etc.

These mistakes should not happen. Period.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: So.... is anyone gonna say that it's her fault for not having her house address properly marked/illuminated/numbered?   No Expert No. However it's very prudent for people to cleary mark their addresses. Some of our area rural fire departments have started marking mail boxes posts on their own. The mail carrier may know exactly where a person lives but at night running a 911 call it can be very difficult to find the persons house. I agree, I as just tossing it out there to see if anyone wanted to reduce the blame on the officers.   No Expert Hitting the right house is not that difficult if the persons invovled in the raid use common sense about these things. Pictures of the house, video of the house, a diagram of the area, the UC goes along with the team. I've never liked the idea of some agency or investigator dropping off a warrant service and not sending their own people on the raid to make sure the correct house is hit instead of sitting back at the office or off scene somewhere. Even in cases where multiple task forces come together for massive raids there needs to be officers attached to each team who know the area to guide the other teams. In the prebriefing the UC's should provide diagrams of the interior of the house, etc. These mistakes should not happen. Period.

I hope you make chief someday.  Your mindset of zero tolerance for wrong address raids is refreshing.

Well at least they apologized and didn't shoot her or her dog.  

Too bad the old lady didn't come out guns blazing.

Quoted: Too bad the old lady didn't come out guns blazing.

Yeah, it's too bad she didn't waste one or two of those guys.  I'm sure they would have gotten her after she got one or two of them, but it would have served them right.  Dead old ladies and dead cops would have been a great conclusion to this goatscrew.  Yep, definitely too bad she didn't come out guns blazing....

Probably time for the mayor to do lunch with the manager of Domino's so they can compare hiring requirements.  It sounds like its time for the mayor to up the bar a little bit.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: 1: Cops drive to the pizza joint nearest 82 Hidden Lane . 2: Cops call pizza joint and order a pizza for 82 Hidden Lane. 3: Cops follow delivery boy. 4: Cops follow to the front door, pay for pizza, knock down door. 5: Cops eat pizza as they discuss the operation. Brilliant! It's so simple it just might work

Actually - having a Pizza delivery confirm the address is a good ploy.

Pizza drivers know how to find the currect address - TO GET PAID! Some places (pizza joints) sell the pizza to the driver - and if he doesn't make the delivery on time the driver owns it. (They do get credit if it was a prank order or other strange circumstance)

Quoted: Quoted: Too bad the old lady didn't come out guns blazing. Yeah, it's too bad she didn't waste one or two of those guys.  I'm sure they would have gotten her after she got one or two of them, but it would have served them right.  Dead old ladies and dead cops would have been a great conclusion to this goatscrew.  Yep, definitely too bad she didn't come out guns blazing....

Unfortunatly people resisting and fighting back at unwarranted, illegal, and invasive entry's and searches is the only way the military police will double check before doing something of this magnitude.

I'm sure you're the type of person that would rather get raped anally than fight back.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: 1: Cops drive to the pizza joint nearest 82 Hidden Lane . 2: Cops call pizza joint and order a pizza for 82 Hidden Lane. 3: Cops follow delivery boy. 4: Cops follow to the front door, pay for pizza, knock down door. 5: Cops eat pizza as they discuss the operation. Brilliant! It's so simple it just might work Actually - having a Pizza delivery confirm the address is a good ploy. Pizza drivers know how to find the currect address - TO GET PAID! Some places (pizza joints) sell the pizza to the driver - and if he doesn't make the delivery on time the driver owns it. (They do get credit if it was a prank order or other strange circumstance)

They don't even really have to make a delivery, just hire an ex-delivery guy that
worked that area to help them MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE they have the right place
(before they kick down doors, wrestle people to the floor and cuff them.....or shoot them)

What if an elderly person is slow to "get down on the floor"?  That is quite difficult for some... my Mom and Dad are good examples.  Both walk with canes.  Dad has very bad knees.  Mom had a stroke a while back.

Handcuffing Mom behind her back would be quite painful.  I think about Patty Konie (from New Orleans) with her arms being twisted behind her back, her shoulder dislocated due to being body slammed.

So, if my parents don't just flop right down when first screamed at, are they "resisting arrest"?  Would my Mom and Dad deserve to be shot for not being quick and nimble?  Can the SWAT guys just go over and kick my Dad in the groin just because they want to?

Why should the officers be able to engage in such outrageous behavior just because they have a badge?  Personally, I don't give a flying f--k about how difficult their job is.  

The citizens are not here to insure the cops' safety... the cops are here to insure the citizens' safety.

I don't see this as just "oops".  I see it as assault and battery...with firearms.  I see it as a felony.



"For one month, the Southwest Drug Task Force had been investigating drug activity at 82 Hidden Lane, and investigators made several undercover meth purchases from a man who lived at the house."

There should be jail time for such slovenly work.

Quoted: What if an elderly person is slow to "get down on the floor"?  That is quite difficult for some... my Mom and Dad are good examples.  Both walk with canes.  Dad has very bad knees.  Mom had a stroke a while back. Handcuffing Mom behind her back would be quite painful.  I think about Patty Konie (from New Orleans) with her arms being twisted behind her back, her shoulder dislocated due to being body slammed. So, if my parents don't just flop right down when first screamed at, are they "resisting arrest"?  Would my Mom and Dad deserve to be shot for not being quick and nimble?  Can the SWAT guys just go over and kick my Dad in the groin just because they want to? Why should the officers be able to engage in such outrageous behavior just because they have a badge?  Personally, I don't give a flying f--k about how difficult their job is.   The citizens are not here to insure the cops safety... the cops are here to insure the citizens safety. I don't see this as just "oops".  I see it as assault and battery, with firearms.  I see it as a felony. durangoherald.com/news/07/images/news070615_1c.jpg "For one month, the Southwest Drug Task Force had been investigating drug activity at 82 Hidden Lane, and investigators made several undercover meth purchases from a man who lived at the house." There should be jail time for such slovenly work.

The LEO legal team will be by shortly to explain all of this to you. This is how it will probably go...

If you have a problem,you need to take it up in the court system.This is the way it is setup to work.
No criminal charges will be filed only civil.
And guess who gets to pay for that?

You guessed it, the good people of Colorado.

I gotta say, I'm impressed at the direction this thread has taken.
Perhaps there is hope yet.