A major metropolitan police department is being sued in Federal Court over a drug raid on a home where the family inside says they got the wrong house!

Did the police fail to verify the address before rushing in with guns drawn, shouting expletives and ruining a 4 year old’s birthday party?

I originally taught this lesson three years ago.

The way the family’s lawyer tells the story it seems like they don’t even know the suspect. It seems like he was a tenant who moved out long before they moved in.

But, what if…

What if the man the police were trying to arrest was the father of the birthday child?

And what if he recently listed the address as his residence when he renewed his driver’s license?

What if he “stays” there occasionally on the weekends, but the family doesn’t consider him to “live there”?

The reality is, while the police maybe should have verified he was in the house before the raid, I suspect they had valid reasons to believe this was a good address.

This could easily be a case of the suspect putting his family at risk so he can avoid arrest.

If this is true, does it change the way you feel about what the police did?

All experienced investigators knows, there are at least two sides to every story. Be a professional. Do the work. Investigate. Seek the truth.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator

Pro Tip: Put the actual work into finding the truth. Don’t just blurt out some social media response filled with your self-righteous indignation.

That means… Do the right thing even if it is the hard thing.

If you like these helpful tips and sources, then don’t miss out on my free special report If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it right here…

UPDATE: August 14, 2019

Just in case you think the Feds would never raid the wrong house…

An 18 year old allegedly made online threats including a call to shoot federal agents.

The New York Times reported:

On Aug. 7, agents swarmed (the suspect’s) mother’s house, but learned that he’d recently moved to live with his father. Later that day, they found (the suspect) and arrested him. He soon admitted to making the posts, the FBI says, but claimed the comments were all in jest.

Larry’s note: Did this guy need to be arrested? In my view, yes. But that doesn’t matter… the point here is VERIFY!