Minn. man shoots cops after SWAT team kicks down wrong door

[atxgun]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/20 ... hoots.html

A Minneapolis police SWAT team kicked in the wrong door yesterday during an early morning raid, prompting the man of the house to grab his gun and open fire on the officers who entered the house.

"He took out his shotgun and he said if they are bad guys I'll shoot, I'll scare them away," Dao Khang, the brother of the homeowner, Vang Khang, tells the Star Tribune. "He fired first, he told me it was two shots."

Dao Khang says his brother was trying to protect his wife and six children. No one from the family was hit during the exchange of gunfire. Vang hit two officers, but the Pioneer Press says they were protected by ballistic vests and helmets.

"I must've heard over 20 or 30 shots, I swear, it was scary," Ruth Hayes, the family's next-door neighbor, tells WCCO-TV. "It was like 30 SWAT guys out here ... it was crazy it was just like havoc."

KARE-TV reports that Vang was detained at the scene and released a few hours later. Police say there may have been a "language barrier" between the residents and the officers.

"It was some bad information that was received on the front end that kind-of trickled all the way through," police Sgt. Jesse Garcia tells the station. "It's unfortunate because we have officers that were hit by gunfire and this truly, truly could have been a much worse situation."

Police haven't decided whether they'll try to charge Khang with a crime. KMSP-TV says the Khang family is consulting with a civil attorney.

What would you do? This story reminds us of the postings we wrote earlier this year about an elderly woman who was shot death when Atlanta cops kicked in the wrong door during a drug investigation.

[propellerhead]

I've always wondered about what happens next. Why would they even charge the homeowner?

I guess this is one good reason to live in the nice side of town. You're less likely to get a botched raid.

[Bob Wolff]

From the local paper

http://www.startribune.com/local/12552126.html

Bad information leads police to wrong house; bullets fly
Minneapolis cops wearing bullet-proof vests were not hurt; homeowner says he fired in self-defense.

By Patrick Kennedy, Star Tribune

Last update: December 16, 2007 - 11:53 PM

Police blamed bad information for sending a SWAT team into a north Minneapolis house early Sunday morning in a raid that ended with shots exchanged between police -- who were struck by bullets -- and the resident, who said he was just defending his family.

The homeowner, who does not speak English, told his brother that he thought the police were the "bad guys" after they broke through the back door of the house, where he lives with his wife and six children. He fired and hit two police officers, who were not injured thanks to their bullet-proof vests and helmets, police said in a statement.

The Police Department's SWAT team was trying to search the two-story house at 12:46 a.m. in the 1300 block of Logan Avenue N., as part of an investigation by the Violent Offender Task Force. But police said that they learned later that bad information led them to that house.

"It was found out that this particular address was not part of that long-term investigation," police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia III told KSTP-TV on Sunday. He told KMSP-TV that it was a "bad situation."

"It could have been much worse," Garcia added.

Dao Khang, who is the brother of the homeowner, Vang Khang, said his brother feared for his safety. "He took out his shotgun and he said if they are bad guys I'll shoot, I'll scare them away," Khang said. "He fired first, he told me it was two shots."

Vang Khang was taken into custody but later released. Dao Khang said his brother has been in contact with a lawyer and is considering legal action.

Khang and his children, who range in age from 3 to 15, were shaken, Dao Khang said. "All these gunshots in the house. They don't know what's going on. Flying bullets in the house and they just cried," he said.

Garcia told KMSP that police grabbed the family's children and shielded them during the incident.

Garcia did not return repeated calls from the Star Tribune on Sunday. Questions about the shooting on Sunday night were referred to Lt. Amelia Huffman, head of the homicide unit, who also did not return calls.

No one answered the front door at the house on Sunday night.

In a statement released shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday, police said that officers found no one on the first floor of the house. When they made their way up to the second floor, they were confronted by an adult male. The officers identified themselves as police, and the man fired several rounds at them. Several officers returned fire, but no one in the house was injured.

Investigations by the Minneapolis Police Department's homicide and internal affairs units are underway. According to standard department procedures, the officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave during the initial investigation.

The names of the officers were not immediately available.

[Moonpie]

The person(s) who were responsible for the mistaken address should be sued into outer space.
The man is extremely lucky he didn't get killed by the SWAT guys.

[bpet]

"Several officers returned fire, but no one in the house was injured."

"I must've heard over 20 or 30 shots, I swear, it was scary,"

Khrang said about his brother, "He fired first, he told me it was two shots."

Khrang fired twice, that leaves 18 to 28 shots fired by who knows how many officers. "No one was injured" - Mr. Khrang is one lucky guy and Minneapolis police SWAT probably need to review training and tactics.

[WarHawk-AVG]

I agree..he is SOOOOO lucky he is still breathing after firing on LEO!

No knock warrants will get many people killed

Last time I checked...they are a 100% violation of the 4th Amendment rights

Judges should interpret the law...NOT decide how they want to pursue it!

[KD5NRH]

I agree..he is SOOOOO lucky he is still breathing after firing on LEO!

No knock warrants will get many people killed

What bothers me is that they'll do these to "preserve evidence," but when it comes time to save lives by going into an active-shooter situation, that's "too dangerous" for immediate action.

[casingpoint]

Break down the door raids are overall a bad idea. The FBI report on the Atalanta drug raid killing of the 92-year-old grandmother is still out. Meantime, the Atlanta PD has reformed it's bust-in tactics, and the city was recently sued by the woman's survivors. In Maryland, optometrist Salvatore J. Culosi was shot and killed in the head in his front yard during a SWAT raid when team member's pistol discharged without explanation. The family sued.

The financial burden may eventually turn the tide when liability insurance is no longer available for such incidents and it hits governmental entities directly in the pocketbook. In the meantime, learn to understand English and distinguish between a police raid and a home invasion robbery.

[atxgun]

In the meantime, learn to understand English and distinguish between a police raid and a home invasion robbery.

So I guess I'll phone in an anonymous report about my apartment being a meth lab so I learn to distinguish what a police raid is like

[HankB]

From the story - " . . . SWAT team kicks down wrong door . . . " they didn't have a warrant - even an improperly issued warrant - for the home they invaded.

The perps are SO lucky that the resident wasn't using a firearm that would penetrate a vest.

[Venus Pax]

The homeowner was in the right whether he understood them or not.

If a group of men are at my door yelling "POLICE" and kicking it in, I'm going to be inclined to believe it's a copy-cat gang and act accordingly.

[atxgun]

The homeowner was in the right whether he understood them or not.

If a group of men are at my door yelling "POLICE" and kicking it in, I'm going to be inclined to believe it's a copy-cat gang and act accordingly.

Good luck defending yourself after killing a cop after they identified themselves.

[KBCraig]

Add another dot to the map:

http://www.cato.org/raidmap/

[BambooShoots]

The homeowner was in the right whether he understood them or not.

If a group of men are at my door yelling "POLICE" and kicking it in, I'm going to be inclined to believe it's a copy-cat gang and act accordingly.

Good luck defending yourself after killing a cop after they identified themselves.

And people staging home invasions aren't capable of shouting "police"?

Just like situations where faux cops pull over ladies at night on a seluded road and the ladies disappear. Hey, they had blinking red and blue lights so they must be police, right?

If someone breaks down my door yelling "police" I'm don't care. I'm shooting at the intruders.

I have an absolutely clean history (save for one traffic ticket) and live in a good aread of town so if the door comes down, I'm not going to pretend it's my family wanting to surprise me. Green tipped 62gr. FMJ will greet them for me.