|
Henry
Herald
Friday,
October 7, 2005
Police
proactive following raid error
From
staff reports
The
Henry County Police raided the wrong house last week searching
for drugs, awakening a frightened couple near the intended
target and handcuffing them to their bed.
It
turned out the innocent couple has been involved in trying to
help victims of Katrina and the officers recognized them
quickly.
They
were uncuffed and the officers went next door to the right
house and raided it.
Henry
County Police Chief Russell Abernathy told the press that some
officers are being disciplined and that a review of the
procedures are under way.
One of those changes is that three supervisors �will have to
concur on the location of the target before we hit it,�
Abernathy said.
No
officers involved in last Friday's early more raid will be
dismissed, Abernathy said.
�We
dropped the ball. It was inexcusable, not acceptable. Things
like this do happen, but it is not supposed to happen to
us.�
Abernathy
told the press that officers blamed a lack of street lights as
the reason for not finding the right house.
In
the time the mistake was discovered and the right house was
raided, the intended target �had time to flush anything he
didn't want us to find,� Abernathy told the press.
Henry
County
is paying for any damage done to the innocent neighbor's house
and the couple is being �very understanding� of the
mistake, Abernathy said. During the raid the SWAT team knocked
down the front door of the couple but it was not clear if
there was any other damage during the raid.
When
Henry
County
police's SWAT members raided the right house, that of Scott
McIntyre on
Guthrie Place
near Stockbridge, they found a sophisticated system of
surveillance, including eight surveillance cameras, motion
monitors, police scanners and radio frequency detectors.
McIntyre
was arrested and was later released on a $15,000 property
bond. Two other men in the house at the time were arrested and
jailed in Henry County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond.
Narcotics
agents found $300 to $400 worth of methamphetamine during the
raid at
Guthrie Place
off
N. Henry Boulevard
around 1 a.m. Friday, according to Henry County Police Capt.
Bill Berry. Several weapons, including hand guns, were also
recovered.
McIntyre,
35, was charged with methamphetamine possession with intent to
distribute. Stockbridge residents Michael Daniel Camp, 27, and
Christopher Irvin Gaddy, 20, were charged with methamphetamine
and Xanax possession and remained in jail late Friday.
Berry
said narcotics agents have been investigating
McIntyre for months and have kept the house under observation.
Police also received neighborhood complaints about the
activity at the house.
Berry
said SWAT members were used to execute the search warrant
because McIntyre's 15-year-old son and his wife, who has high
blood pressure, were present and they wanted the house to be
secured quickly. His wife does not face any charges. McIntyre
also has been known to carry more than one gun on himself at a
time, according to
Berry
.
| 