One evening, our client, a young married man with three young children. Awoke to a SWAT team kicking down his door. They handcuffed our client and held him on the floor for 45 minutes. Officers soon figured out that they were in the wrong home. They then went next door, politely knocked on the door of the actual fugitive, and arrested him. Even after officers had arrested the correct fugitive, they continued to hold our client handcuffed on his floor, in front of his family, for another 30 minutes.
We sued the sheriff’s office alleging that the SWAT team had violated our client’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The case resolved soon afterwards.