Police Burst Into Wrong Houses, Lawsuit Alleges
posted April 24, 2007
Police looking for a man allegedly holding a gun to a woman's head burst into two wrong houses and roughed up the residents, a lawsuit says.
Leonel and Mary Heon, Patricia Ann Russell and Norman Cox filed the Circuit Court complaint against the city, the Chattanooga Police Department and several unidentified city police officers.
The suit says on April 23, 2006, the Heons were asleep in separate bedrooms and their daughter, Ms. Russell, was asleep in another bedroom of their home when there was a loud knocking and yelling at the door.
It says as Ms. Heon was attempting to open the latched screen door an officer jerked the door open, pulling the latch out of the door. It says at least two officers ran onto the porch with guns drawn and pointed.
The suit says one officer pushed Ms. Heon backward and to the side, saying, "Get out of the way!"
It says she was pushed with such force that she was spun around and hit her ankle on the door facing of the porch.
The suit says she fell against her husband, who had entered the porch area.
She asked what the officers were doing, and they said they were looking for "a 'Chris' who was supposed to be holding a gun to his wife's head." Ms. Heon said there was no "Chris" in the house.
The suit says other officers entered the house and it was searched without permission or a search warrant.
The complaint says Ms. Russell was awakened when she heard her elderly mother screaming and by a popping sound and an officer kicking open the door to her bedroom.
It says the door slammed open with such force against a chest of drawers that the corner of the chest knocked a hole in the door. Two officers entered with guns drawn and pointed at her and with flashlights shining on her.
They yelled, "Where is Chris? Where is Chris at?" and she replied, she did not know a Chris.
The suit says one officer stated they had been to another house on Fourth Avenue and had not found Chris.
The complaint says the officers proceeded next door to the home of Mr. Cox, 65. He was seated in his chair in the living room watching TV.
He said he heard a commotion at the front and, as he opened the front door, was told to "get out of that door." He said he returned to his chair.
Mr. Cox said sometimes later officers with guns came in yelling, "Get on the floor. Get down on the floor now."
The suit says he had difficulty getting up quickly because he had broken his foot in January and had only been out of the cast for two weeks. It says he had been using a wheelchair, and he also has a steel plate in his head.
The suit says as he was having trouble moving, an officer grabbed him and pulled him out of the chair, forcing him down on the floor while yelling for him to get on the floor and get his hands behind his back. He said the force was such that he suffered injuries to his back, torso and ribs.
It says officers searched the house without permission.
The suit says officers kicked in a padlocked door to a room that was rented by a man who was out of town at the time. The kick broke the hasp on the door.
He said he was told he was Chris and was holding a gun on his wife. He said he told police his name was Cox and "I don't have a wife and I don't have a gun."
It says he was accused of lying and of drinking. The suit says each time he would deny that he was Chris, officers would call him a liar, curse him, call him obscenities and tell him to keep his face on the floor.
The suit says when officers "apparently realized they had made a mistake" they left Mr. Cox lying on the floor. It says, "He began hurting in his chest and rib cage area and his legs were weak due to inactivity and his foot being broken."
The suit was filed by attorneys Lisa Bowman and Cindy Bice.
