Police Pay $75k for Drug Raid at Wrong Home in Utah

February 11, 2014

Salt Lake City will pay $75,000 to settle a case in which narcotics detectives raided the wrong home and pointed a gun at its then-76-year-old female occupant.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the payment to the woman ends all of the homeowner’s claims against the city.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank apologized immediately after the mistake in fall of 2012. He said the woman was not injured when the search warrant was executed.

Officers used a battering ram to knock down the door and execute a “no-knock” search warrant.

Burbank said officers did not follow protocol. Leadership in the narcotics unit was changed after the mistake.

The homeowner signed the settlement in November, and the Tribune obtained a copy through a records request.