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City residents say police raided wrong home

Britt family files complaint with police internal affairs

Raided by police, a Baltimore family is speaking out, claiming officers hit the wrong target. The situation followed complaints about rampant illegal narcotics sales in northeast Baltimore. Police conducted a raid, but did they target the right place? A woman claimed she contacted police about the drug deals, but they raided the wrong house -- hers. Concerned and confused, Adiena Britt has lots of questions after police raided her house.
Raided by police, a Baltimore family is speaking out, claiming officers hit the wrong target. The situation followed complaints about rampant illegal narcotics sales in northeast Baltimore. Police conducted a raid, but did they target the right place? A woman claimed she contacted police about the drug deals, but they raided the wrong house -- hers. Concerned and confused, Adiena Britt has lots of questions after police raided her house.
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City residents say police raided wrong home
Britt family files complaint with police internal affairs
Raided by police, a Baltimore family is speaking out, claiming officers hit the wrong target.The situation followed complaints about rampant illegal narcotics sales in northeast Baltimore. Police conducted a raid, but did they target the right place?A woman claimed she contacted police about the drug deals, but they raided the wrong house -- hers.Concerned and confused, Adiena Britt has lots of questions after police raided her house."How did they mess this up? How did they mess this up when I'm the one who is saying the drugs are being dealt across the street and my house is being raided? I don't understand how a breakdown like that happens," Britt said.Britt said she'd been contacting police since May about illegal drug activity in her Hamilton Hills neighborhood, even going to the northeast police station to report it to detectives. She and other neighbors tell 11 News they constantly watched a man making deals from a house right across from Britt's home, sometimes walking up and down the street or quickly going to cars stopped at a nearby intersection.Britt said officers rushed into her home yelling, "Hands up! Get on the ground!" on Sept. 10."I was really, really scared," Britt said.Jared Britt, 12, heard the commotion from the basement."I hear the door open, and I hear a whole bunch of yelling upstairs and I see a guy come down the steps. I didn't know who he was. I thought we were getting robbed. I was about to go outside to call police," he said."My first question out of my mouth was, 'Are you serious? You're not going across the street? You raided my house,' and they kept telling me to be quiet," Adiena Britt said.According to Adiena Britt, the man dealing drugs across the street had disappeared three days before the raid."They want community help and people to stand up for their community. It's like no good deed goes unpunished," Adiena Britt said.Did detectives target the wrong house? Police said while they have received complaints about drug dealing in the area, the raid at the Britt's home was no mistake."Based on the information we had, there was a belief that the person either resided or stored drugs in that home and that was part of the probable cause that led to the search warrant of that home," Baltimore police Director T.J. Smith said.According to the warrant, police began conducting a search for a man named "Mike" based on information from a confidential informant -- an admitted cocaine and heroin user.Police said they have no surveillance video, but officers watched "Mike" exit the front door, walk toward the informant, conduct a drug deal and return to the home.With the informant receiving an "undisclosed amount of clear gel capsules -- suspected heroin."During the raid police searched the basement and the bedroom of Adiena Britt's 20-year-old son, Justen Britt, who was at work at the time of the raid."I was bummed out about it because I knew I had to clean it up, and I hoped they didn't break anything. I knew they weren't going to find anything because I don't sell drugs," Justen Britt said.Justen Britt said he has never gone by the name "Mike" in his life.Police did not make any arrests or find any drugs."Unfortunately, at times there are search warrants that yield negative results but that doesn't mean we hit the wrong house. In this case we did not hit the wrong house," Smith said.Adiena Britt said she became even more disheartened as officers walked out saying, "'Sorry for the inconvenience,' like they stepped on my toe, and left.""And apologizing for the inconvenience, officers recognize serving search warrants is an invasive thing," Smith said.The Britts now want an investigation and have filed a complaint with police internal affairs.

Raided by police, a Baltimore family is speaking out, claiming officers hit the wrong target.

The situation followed complaints about rampant illegal narcotics sales in northeast Baltimore. Police conducted a raid, but did they target the right place?

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A woman claimed she contacted police about the drug deals, but they raided the wrong house -- hers.

Concerned and confused, Adiena Britt has lots of questions after police raided her house.

"How did they mess this up? How did they mess this up when I'm the one who is saying the drugs are being dealt across the street and my house is being raided? I don't understand how a breakdown like that happens," Britt said.

Britt said she'd been contacting police since May about illegal drug activity in her Hamilton Hills neighborhood, even going to the northeast police station to report it to detectives. She and other neighbors tell 11 News they constantly watched a man making deals from a house right across from Britt's home, sometimes walking up and down the street or quickly going to cars stopped at a nearby intersection.

Britt said officers rushed into her home yelling, "Hands up! Get on the ground!" on Sept. 10.

"I was really, really scared," Britt said.

Jared Britt, 12, heard the commotion from the basement.

"I hear the door open, and I hear a whole bunch of yelling upstairs and I see a guy come down the steps. I didn't know who he was. I thought we were getting robbed. I was about to go outside to call police," he said.

"My first question out of my mouth was, 'Are you serious? You're not going across the street? You raided my house,' and they kept telling me to be quiet," Adiena Britt said.

According to Adiena Britt, the man dealing drugs across the street had disappeared three days before the raid.

"They want community help and people to stand up for their community. It's like no good deed goes unpunished," Adiena Britt said.

Did detectives target the wrong house? Police said while they have received complaints about drug dealing in the area, the raid at the Britt's home was no mistake.

"Based on the information we had, there was a belief that the person either resided or stored drugs in that home and that was part of the probable cause that led to the search warrant of that home," Baltimore police Director T.J. Smith said.

According to the warrant, police began conducting a search for a man named "Mike" based on information from a confidential informant -- an admitted cocaine and heroin user.

Police said they have no surveillance video, but officers watched "Mike" exit the front door, walk toward the informant, conduct a drug deal and return to the home.

With the informant receiving an "undisclosed amount of clear gel capsules -- suspected heroin."

During the raid police searched the basement and the bedroom of Adiena Britt's 20-year-old son, Justen Britt, who was at work at the time of the raid.

"I was bummed out about it because I knew I had to clean it up, and I hoped they didn't break anything. I knew they weren't going to find anything because I don't sell drugs," Justen Britt said.

Justen Britt said he has never gone by the name "Mike" in his life.

Police did not make any arrests or find any drugs.

"Unfortunately, at times there are search warrants that yield negative results but that doesn't mean we hit the wrong house. In this case we did not hit the wrong house," Smith said.

Adiena Britt said she became even more disheartened as officers walked out saying, "'Sorry for the inconvenience,' like they stepped on my toe, and left."

"And apologizing for the inconvenience, officers recognize serving search warrants is an invasive thing," Smith said.

The Britts now want an investigation and have filed a complaint with police internal affairs.