PULASKI POLICE RAID WRONG HOUSE FOR DRUGS

Informant Gives False Information

PULASKI - An apology from the Pulaski Police Department isn't enough for William and Geneva Summers, who were roused from sleep early Monday during a mistaken drug raid at their home.

Officers with the town's narcotics unit raided the couple's apartment on Second Street about 4 a.m., guns drawn and looking for Hispanic residents and a methamphetamine lab, based on false information provided by an informant.

"They hit the back door, yelling in some language I couldn't understand, I think it was Spanish," William Summers said.  "I thought someone was breaking in."

William Summers, who said he feared for his life, ran to the living room, called 911 and dropped the phone on the floor.  He fell to the floor moments after officers tore the back door off its hinges and entered the house.

Geneva Summers stayed in the bedroom, and two officers drew their guns on her.

But officers soon realized they had made a mistake.

According to an affidavit used to obtain a search warrant Saturday, a "reliable informant" used by the Police Department reported a methamphetamine lab run by Hispanic residents was in the home and that he had seen drugs purchased there in the past three days.

The warrant gave officers permission to enter the apartment and search for drugs, money, firearms and records of drug transactions.

"The way I feel about that, they should have done more investigating before they done what they done," William Summers said.

He said officers told him the informant admitted he lied later Monday morning.

Police staff said no one, including Chief Herb Cooley, was available to comment Monday afternoon.

Damage left behind includes a large slash in the back screen door and the broken back door.  When William Summers told them Hispanic residents lived in a nearby home, officers left through the front door of the apartment home and kicked in a second door - which led into the couple's bedroom - toppling a chest of drawers.

The Police Department has apologized and offered to repair the damage, William Summers said.

But he still has dozens of questions about why the raid occurred in the first place.

"I just feel like I've been violated," he said.  "Our lives were threatened."

Several months ago, the couple reported a barbecue grill stolen from their back yard, which means, he said, the Police Department has the home's address and its occupants in its records.

"This is an awful feeling," Geneva Summers said.

Posted by: Allan Wilkinson