Pubdate: Wed, 24 Oct 2007
Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI)
Copyright: 2007 Kauai Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://kauaiworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/964
Author: Amanda C. Gregg
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

'WRONG HOUSE' RAID COSTS COUNTY $325K

The couple baby-sitting their grandchildren when police mistook their 
home for a drug dealer's residence has been awarded a $325,000 
settlement, their attorney said yesterday.

Police had been tracking a package that allegedly contained 11 pounds 
of marijuana that had been picked up at the Koloa post office by a 
man who was driving a Toyota truck on March 15, 2005, according to 
court documents.

Though police followed the car onto Kaumuali'i Highway and onto a 
private road with seven houses, when the transmitter inside the box 
went off indicating the package had been opened, police had lost 
visual contact with the vehicle.

That's when, without a warrant authorizing entrance into the home of 
William and Sharon McCulley, but rather with an "anticipatory search 
warrant" that authorized them to search any property where the 
marijuana was transported, police entered their home.

Though the Toyota truck they had been following and the transported 
box wasn't at the McCulley's home, police then threw Sharon McCulley 
on the ground next to her grandchild and handcuffed her, pressing a 
gun so hard into her head it left a circular mark, according to the complaint.

Her husband, William McCulley, who has a severe nerve disorder and 
has a walker and leg brace, was also ordered to lie on the ground, 
but was unable to do so quickly because of his disability. Thrown to 
the ground by an officer, William McCulley's implanted electronic 
shocking device to alleviate pain malfunctioned causing him to 
convulse, court documents state.

Attorneys Michael Green and John Rapp said in addition to the pain 
and suffering the McCulleys endured, their privacy rights were violated.

In addition, they alleged that police not only failed to ensure they 
were entering the right home authorized by the warrant, but also 
committed assault and battery, trespassing, and negligently inflicted 
serious emotional distress upon the McCulleys. According to court 
records, the box that was picked up at the Koloa post office by David 
Hibbitt, who drove away in a Toyota truck, was in a home about two 
houses down from the 'Oma'o residence inhabited by the McCulleys.

The three residents of that home, including Hibbitt, who pleaded 
guilty to first-degree promotion of a detrimental drug, were arrested 
on drug-related charges in the case.

Rapp said though the settlement doesn't allocate a specific amount 
for each portion of the claim, he did say the grandchildren also 
suffered trauma from the incident.

"It was as though the bad guys were coming in after them," he said. 
"It was very frightening to them."

Rapp said looking forward, he thinks future similar incidents can be 
easily avoided.

"When the officers lost sight of this marijuana package, they should 
have called off the search," he said.

Rapp added that he thought Capt. Ale Quibilan was forthcoming in 
trying to assess what went wrong and trying to help prevent it from 
happening again.

"More preparation, more training, having the most qualified doing the 
job," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman