Aug 28, 2006 5:13 pm US/Eastern
NYPD Defends Drug Raid On Drug-Less Apartments
Say Their Information Said Both Homes Had Drugs And Guns
by Tony Aiello
HIGHBRIDGE, THE BRONX (CBS) ―
Two Bronx families said the NYPD mistakenly raided their apartments Monday morning. But the department is defending its actions.
Flexton Young said he, his wife, and their four children were asleep when police broke down the door of their apartment on the fourth floor of 974 Anderson Ave.
"They ripped through my front door, they tore off my closet door, ripped both of my kids' rooms to pieces," Young said. "It brought me to tears, and I just didn't want my kids to get hurt."
Young said police made a "big mistake" believing they'd find illegal drugs and guns in his apartment.
The raid, around six Monday morning, left the family's apartment a shambles. Belongings were pulled off shelves and out of drawers, and tossed on the floor. Officers upended a sofa and slashed out the lining, and also dumped out box after box of dry goods in the kitchen.
Upstairs, a similar raid was made on the apartment of the Pastrana family. Police turned several rooms upside down and pepper-sprayed the family dog. Family members said one officer punched a hole in a wall, grabbed an egg beater, and started to poke around inside the wall, looking for hidden drugs and guns.
Nothing was found in the Pastrana apartment, and no one was arrested.
Downstairs, Flexton Young said police gave him a summons for marijuana possession after discovering half a joint in an ashtray.
"I had one officer tell me that he was sorry this happened, and everybody else just looked at me and walked away," Young said.
A spokesman for the NYPD said police had good information they would find drugs and guns in the apartments, and the raid was justified.
Both families said they are considering filing a complaint.
According to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, more than 300 allegations of improper searches of homes and businesses have been investigated and ruled on this year. Less than five-percent of the complaints were found to be "substantiated."
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