Community | July 30, 2008 | 9 comments

Botched Raid of Innocent Family Earns Cops Merit Badges

source: http://reason.com/blog/show/127818.html

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TravG73

http://reason.com/blog/show/127818.html

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.Seven months later, no one in the police department has been held accountable for the mistakes leading up to the raid.

However, this week Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan and Mayor R.T. Rybak did give the raiding officers medals and commendations for their bravery in nearly killing Vang Khang, his wife, and their six children.

Said Chief Dolan while handing out the hardware:

"The easy decision would have been to retreat under covering fire. The team did not take the easy way out," Dolan told the crowd. "This is a perfect example of a situation that could have gone horribly wrong, but did not because of the professionalism with which it was handled."

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.

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