Man Sues City After SWAT Team Shoots Him

Earlier today I sent the following letter and article by David Holden of the Huntsville Times (see below) to my City Council Members:

Dear Members:

Wow - a SWAT team shoots a cripple innocent man, investigates and clear themselves (now there’s a surprise), and the city is getting sued for $7.5 million dollars!

I’ll bet the city council just can’t wait for the publicity, professional and personal liability – and of course the expenses to the city. Most intriguing, of course, is how the jury will react when they place themselves in the position of this poor man, woken from his bed in the most violent of attacks against his home and personal property and think of how they would have reacted? Add to this their reaction when they realize as I suspect that the SWAT members are lying about what really happened.

And then the city council gets to explain to the taxpayers that they don’t carry enough insurance to cover this kind of liability.

Do we really need a SWAT team in our town?


Nick Charles

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Man shot by SWAT team sues city
Lawyer says police raided wrong house; $7.5 million sought
Friday, December 08, 2006

By DAVID HOLDEN
Times Staff Writer david.holden@htimes.com

"A Limestone County man who was shot by Huntsville Police Department SWAT team members has filed a $7.5 million damage claim against the city.

The four officers were in the wrong house when they shot Kenneth Wayne Jamar during a drug raid June 27, said Jamar's attorney, Mark McDaniel. He said Jamar, 50, was also unarmed.
McDaniel filed the suit for injuries that Jamar allegedly suffered during the raid. The allegations in Jamar's claim contradict accounts by the police.

The four officers were cleared in August after an investigation by a police shooting review board. A brief statement released by the police then said the officers were justified to use deadly force because the man they shot was pointing a pistol at them.

"Being armed in your house is your constitutional right," McDaniel said. "And you have a right not to have the government break in and fire 16 shots at you."

The shooting occurred as the SWAT team was helping federal agents serve arrest warrants in the area as part of a two-year undercover drug investigation.

Federal officials held a news conference that same day about several arrests in the early morning hours to dismantle a notorious drug ring.

Despite all the information gathered by the law enforcement agencies before the raid, the officers burst into the wrong house and shot the wrong man, McDaniel said. The wrong house was marked on an aerial photograph supporting the arrest warrant, McDaniel said.

"Mr. Jamar's name does not appear on the search warrant nor does his address," he said. "Mr. Jamar was asleep and unarmed in his bed when the City of Huntsville Police Department SWAT team broke into his home and proceeded to fire upon his person with assault rifles at close range."

The federal search arrest warrant was to be served at 13355 Honey Way in the Madison portion of Limestone - the residence of Jerome Wallace, Jamar's nephew. Jamar lives at 13389 Honey Way.

Jamar was already bedridden after two heart attacks and other physical problems, McDaniel said. "He has a pacemaker in his chest and has to use crutches to walk," he said.

Lawyer: 16 shots fired

The officers fired 16 shots into the room, and Jamar was stuck by five bullets, said Marcus Helstowski, a lawyer in McDaniel's firm. Jamar was wounded in the foot, hip and groin, he said.
The officers were searching for Wallace, who lived in a trailer that was 200 to 250 feet west of Jamar's residence, Helstowski said.

Wallace was arrested while watching the commotion that had gathered near his uncle's home. He is scheduled for trial in federal court in January on charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The shooting review board report said the officers identified themselves as police before they crashed through two doors and encountered Jamar. The statement said he was standing in the middle of his room pointing a pistol at the officers when they kicked open the door.

The officers shot Jamar after he disobeyed several warnings to drop his weapon, the report said.
Report conceded mix-up

The report acknowledged that Jamar was not a target of the investigation and that the officers had a search warrant for 13355 Honey Way. The report did not explain why officers raided the wrong house.

The Limestone County Sheriff's Office investigated and said it found no reason to pursue charges against the officers. Sheriff Mike Blakely was not available for comment Thursday.
The police officers did not verify nor confirm the address nor the identity of occupants of the residence where the search was to be served, McDaniel said.

McDaniel said he hired a forensics expert to analyze the paths of the bullets. He declined Thursday to reveal the findings of his expert.

McDaniel said the police were negligent and careless in their execution of the warrant. The city failed in its duty to properly supervise its officers, he said.

City Attorney Peter Joffrion said Thursday that it is against city policy to comment on pending claims or litigation.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the suit. "


I hope Mr. Jamar wins every penny and more and these SWATANAZI's get brought up on at least attempted manslaughter...........

Nick