Medal of valor for incompetent cops?

This story from The Associated Press is unbelievable. These eight cops, acting on a bad tip from an informant, kick in the door of the home of an innocent family Dec. 16 in Minneapolis. The owner of the home, fearing for his life, opens fire on the cops. Because the cops were wearing body armor, none of them were hurt

Still, the cops returned fire. Apparently, though, they need to spend a little more time on the firing range because all they managed to do was fill the house with bullet holes and broken glass.

Now, on Monday, the chief award these Keystone cops medals of valor while the family, including the children, are still suffering from the trauma of their mistakes.

It is shocking that in this day and age that cops continue to kick in doors based on the word of a street informant. A simple survelliance of the home would have told them it was the wrong house.

Still, in the end, even if the officers were not responsible, which they were, they certainly did not deserve medals of valor.

Despicable.

Minn. officers involved in botched raid get medals

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Eight police officers who raided an innocent family's house last year, trading fire with the terrified husband, have received medals - and that has outraged the family.

Three officers involved in the Dec. 16 raid, which stemmed from bad information from an informant, received medals of valor from Police Chief Tim Dolan on Monday. The other five got medals of commendation.

Yee Moua said her family is "a mess right now," and her 9-year-old son, who saw the shooting, "still has nightmares and has needed therapy."

Police entered the home expecting to find a violent gang member. Yee Moua's husband, Vang Khang, thought they were being robbed and shot at the officers through a bedroom door.

The officers, members of the Minneapolis Police Department's SWAT team, were wearing protective gear and were not injured. But they returned fire.

Members of the family also were not physically injured, but the house was left filled with bullet holes and broken glass. Two days later, Dolan apologized and started an internal investigation.

"They were outraged and they were hurt. ... To this day this family continues to suffer," said their attorney, former U.S. attorney Tom Heffelfinger.

The investigation found the team had gone there looking for a gang member's guns after an informant gave investigators bad information. Authorities are still looking into how the case was handled before the raid, but Dolan said the SWAT officers themselves have been cleared.

Heffelfinger said the family has notified the city that they plan to file a lawsuit. He questions the timing and motives for the award.

But Dolan said in a statement: "The officers put themselves in harm's way. They were shot at and shot and deserved to be recognized."

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category | War on Drugs
author | Lucente

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