Pubdate: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 Source: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2000 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/letters_editor.htm Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Forum: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/interact1.htm Author: MIRIAM STAWOWY HALLANDALE POLICE DENY THEY RAIDED WRONG HOME HALLANDALE BEACH -- A year ago, Hallandale Beach Police raided the wrong house during a drug bust operation. They apologized. They said they were sorry. But this time police officials are not offering apologies for the recent drug raid of a home, whose tenant claims is another mistake. "This is the correct residence," said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Lawrence Faragher during a Wednesday press conference. "There is no mistake in this case. There's no need for an apology." A week ago, the police department conducted a drug raid of a home at 27 SW Ninth St. About 7 p.m. on Feb. 2, an armed police SWAT team dressed in black barged into the home where 28-year-old Tracey Bell, who is nine months pregnant, sat in her living room talking to her mother on the telephone. Bell's two daughters, ages 10 and 11, were with her. "They ran after my 10-year-old and a cop pulled me down on the floor," said Bell. "He handcuffed me." Police explained to Bell that they had a search warrant and that drugs had been sold from her home. Bell told police they had the wrong place. "They know they picked the wrong house," said Bell. "My house is not a drug house." Allegations of wrong-house drug raids aren't new to Hallandale Beach. A year ago, a police SWAT team surprised a couple as the door to their apartment came tumbling down and the team of men in black searched them for drugs and guns. The couple is now suing Hallandale Beach, which admitted to raiding the wrong home. In the most recent raid case, the police department denied that officers forced Bell to the floor. Faragher said once officers realized Bell was pregnant they decided not to handcuff her. Police even called a rescue truck in case Bell didn't feel well. But she declined to be taken to the hospital. However, during the raid, a drug-sniffing dog alerted narcotics officers to a smell coming from a kitchen table and a dresser in a bedroom, police said. A white substance was visible only on the kitchen table, but the amount was too small to be recovered or tested, they said. Police found nothing else in Bell's home. "It was not enough to make an arrest," Faragher said. "But the dog alerts to a narcotics substance." The police department's raid was part of the city's increased efforts to clean up its southwest area. Residents have complained about increased drug sales in the mainly working-class section. Bell, who has no criminal record, said she was one of the residents who repeatedly called police to complain about suspicious activity outside her duplex. On Wednesday, neighbors talked anonymously, fearing reprisals from criminals who frequent the area. They said Bell was known for picking up her phone to call police. Bell, a single mother of three, is now on maternity leave from her job as a McDonald's manager. A "reliable" confidential informant, whom the police department has used at least 75 times, led police to Bell's home, Faragher said. Police arranged a controlled purchase of drugs during the weeks of Jan. 1 through Jan. 24. According to a police report, the informant made contact with a man in front of Bell's home. The man then knocked on Bell's door and exchanged something with a woman inside. The man then walked back to the informant and handed something to the informant. When the informant rejoined the undercover officers, he turned in one piece of crack cocaine. Faragher didn't comment on whether the female in the house was Bell. "We can't say she was at home when the drug bust took place," Faragher said. Bell said she's the only one with access to her home. As of Wednesday, she hadn't decided on whether to take legal action against the city. "I've never sold drugs," Bell said. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck