In a recent case against Evansville Police Department, the 7th Circuit found the mistakes made and aggressive action taken in the search of Louise Milan’s house inexcusable and denied an appeal placed to defend the actions of the police officers.
Police had evidence that indicated online police threats coming from Mrs. Milan’s home. The next day, a SWAT team went to search the home. Police believed that the threats were coming from one of three suspected males, even though there was no evidence that indicated anyone besides Mrs. Milan and her two daughters lived there. The officers knocked on the door to the home, but did not give the residents an appropriate amount of time to respond. Officers then broke a window and threw two flash bang grenades inside.
The search was recorded on one officer’s helmet-cam and those who have watched it were disturbed by the aggressive nature of the search. The only people who were in the home at the time of the search were Mrs. Milan and her 18 year old daughter, who many believed looked much younger and smaller than her age. Both woman were handcuffed and brought outside without restraint. The handling of the two women was unnecessarily harsh despite their cooperation. The use of flashy bang grenades was extremely dangerous and only should have been used in necessary situations.
With just a little bit of further investigation, it was revealed that the threats were coming from a neighbor of Mrs. Milan, Derrick Murray, who used her Wi-Fi to post the threatening messages. Murray was arrested a short while after. The courts ruled that in this case, the police department had made too many mistakes and the unnecessarily aggressive way the search was conducted was not within protocol. Our Evansville attorneys at Biesecker Dutkanych & Macer, LLC helped to win this appeal and secure justice against the unnecessary and avoidable aggression of law enforcement.