© W>WTEVA SWAT team gathers outside the home of a domestic disturbance in Jacksonville.
Deborah Franz was told to leave her home on Sunday, February 2nd, when there was a domestic disturbance in the mobile home across the street. A neighbor had allegedly gotten physical with his father and displayed a handgun. The reaction was for a paramilitary force to cordon off the block and forcibly evacuate neighboring homes for the rest of the day.
"The cop goes 'You all need to leave, you can't be in your house,'" Franz told WTEV.
Franz left for 6 hours while police blockaded the street. Little did she know that controlling the scene meant taking over the homes not involved with the investigation.
When she returned, she says she "froze" when she opened her door and her belongings had been obviously tampered with. Her television had been moved and her Xbox game console disconnected. Window drapes had been pulled to the floor.
Franz believed she had been victim to a home invasion. Then it dawned on her that the home invaders were working for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
© W>WTEVDeborah Franz says she was violated when SWAT invaded her home.
The SWAT team had broken into her home to obtain a tactical advantage against the suspect next door. Franz wasn't even so much as notified of the entry.
Her complaint drew only a press release promising police would review their own actions to make sure that they were "legally sound" and performed "in the best interest of the safety" of police and the community. It would not be the first time that officer safety has been trumpeted as an excuse for infringing citizens' rights.
SWAT spent hours holding its standoff, bringing in heavy machinery resembling a forklift, and threatening the neighbor over loudspeakers. It turned out that the house they were focused on had been empty the whole time. When SWAT crashed in after 5 hours, the suspect, Michael K. Farrell, had already left. The siege of Glen Gardener Drive had not stopped the suspect from leaving.
A similar case of police commandeering multiple homes of innocent people took place last year in Nevada. The families involved sued the department for violating the 3rd Amendment. No update has been made available on the case.
It does not bode well that the police can operate outside the law when it suits their tactical advantages and safety objectives. Is there an exemption for police officers in the breaking and entering laws in Florida? Does the 3rd Amendment apply to police seizing homes?
"It turned out that the house they were focused on had been empty the whole time. When SWAT crashed in after 5 hours, the suspect, Michael K. Farrell, had already left. The siege of Glen Gardener Drive had not stopped the suspect from leaving."
This is like one of those cartoons or Hollywood comedies... stupid is as stupid does, but being stupid, they aren't aware of how stupid it is.... when in the farce phase of civilization, the end of the script has already been written.... just needs the curtain to fall.