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AlterNet reports
On April 20, 2012, seven heavily armed Johnson County sheriff's officers conducted an early morning raid on the house of Adlynn and Robert Harte based on vegetative samples found in the couple's trash. It turns out those samples were tea leaves, and officers found a hydroponic tomato garden instead of marijuana.
The Hartes sued the county for $7 million on unlawful search-and-seizure claims, which a federal judge tossed after finding the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.
On [July 25, 2017], however, a three-judge 10th Circuit panel disagreed--and Circuit Judge Carlos Lucero offered a sarcastic summary in the ruling of the mistakes made by the officers.
"Law-abiding tea drinkers and gardeners beware: One visit to a garden store and some loose tea leaves in your trash may subject you to an early morning, SWAT-style raid, complete with battering ram, bulletproof vests, and assault rifles", Lucero wrote. "Perhaps the officers will intentionally conduct the terrifying raid while your children are home, and keep the entire family under armed guard for 2½ hours while concerned residents of your quiet, family-oriented neighborhood wonder what nefarious crime you have committed. This is neither hyperbole nor metaphor--precisely what happened to the Harte family in the case before us on appeal."
[...] The Hartes claim that officers lied about the field test results showing the tea leaves tested positive for THC, the principal ingredient in marijuana. Police failed to photograph the results and did not send the samples to a lab for confirmation, given the pressure to obtain warrants for the April 20 crackdown--facts not lost on [concurring Judge Nancy] Moritz.
(Score: 3, Informative) by captain_nifty on Friday July 28 2017, @09:05PM (3 children)
Honestly based on what the police routinely do in this country, they were lucky not to have their pets killed, be shot themselves, and have any and all valuables removed from their home as seized assets.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Friday July 28 2017, @10:23PM (1 child)
One is that by chance they wound up with a REALLY poor target for this sort of thing;
"The Hartes don’t fit the profile of typical neighborhood weed dealers. In fact, both were former CIA employees with high-level security clearance. Robert took on the role of a stay-at-home dad while Adlynn worked as an attorney. Lucero made note of the officers’ lack of investigation into the couple before the raid."
The other is the court ruling itself, it's very rare to see the courts rule against the government like this.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by epitaxial on Saturday July 29 2017, @02:47AM
The government takes care of its own.
(Score: 2, Touché) by nitehawk214 on Friday July 28 2017, @10:32PM
If they had gone in gunning and left no witnesses, they would probably get off easier.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh