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An innocent man says he was visited by sheriff's deputies who pointed guns in his face and told him he was lucky they didn't kill him.

Connor Guerrero, a recent college graduate, says he was disturbed in his home recently when strange men began sneaking around his yard and pointing flashlights in his windows, giving him cause for alarm.

Guerrero assumed he was being scoped out by burglars and that this could be a "dangerous situation" for him. He attempted to deter the prowlers by banging on the door to declare his presence.

He then peeked out the door to survey his yard.

"Right as soon as I opened this door, and it's dark outside - it's very dark and all I can see is a pistol," Guerrero told KREM.

Guerrero slammed the door shut and retreated for cover. That's when he heard the aggressive, gun-toting strangers scream "Sheriff's Office!" The voices demanded he exit the home and surrender to them. Guerrero complied.

With guns pointed at him, he was ordered to his knees in submission. Guerrero was forced to produce his ID and prove that he lived in his own home.

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© KREMConnor Guerrero
"You're lucky I didn't [expletive] shoot you," the deputy snarled at the homeowner.

As it turned out, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office went to the wrong home responding to a "suspicious vehicle" call. The Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said his deputies had made a mistake, but then placed blame on the homeowner for being cautious.

"You don't pound on a door, open it and slam it that way. Put yourself in the deputies' position," said Knezovich.

It seems the sheriff believes his deputies deserve a wide latitude of understanding as they fumble routine calls and accost innocent homeowners. The threat of violence against a man who showed no actual aggression shows a questionable lack of judgement on the part of the deputies.

Perhaps the public servants should try putting themselves in the homeowner's position, and be glad their ineptitude didn't put them at the mercy of someone rightfully protecting their home.