ATLANTA — An Atlanta woman says she was asleep at home when police busted through her door to find a wanted woman, but she’s not the person they were looking for.
Security cameras recorded the encounter and show police officers showing up at the apartment door with guns drawn. They’re wearing tactical gear, and one officer is behind a shield.
They knock loudly on the door and shout, “Any occupants come to your door with your hands up and empty, or we will breach the door.”
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Teaira Williams said she, her 12-year-old daughter and boyfriend were asleep inside.
“We were sleeping, and I heard a bang at the door about 7:00 am, really, really loud banging. So, I kind of jumped up,” said Williams. “I heard it again, so I woke my boyfriend up. I said, ‘Is somebody banging at the door?’ We heard it again. We jumped up, put on some pants, but by the time I was like coming to the door to open it, they bust through it. I seen rifles, flashlights. I said, Who are you looking for?’”
Police told her they were looking for a wanted woman. They shared the woman’s name.
Channel 2 Action News is not sharing the wanted woman’s name because police would not reveal it, and the Fulton County Clerk’s Office said it’s not public until the arrest warrant is served.
“I said, ‘Well, you have the wrong house,’” said Williams. “They said come outside, come outside. So, with guns in my face, I’m terrified. I just come outside. I don’t have any shoes on, anything. So, we come outside.”
She said she told police her daughter was in the house and was too frightened to come outside.
Police assured the child she would be okay, and she finally came outside.
“She’s in tears, she’s crying, she’s shaking,” said Williams.
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She said police told her that employees in the leasing office of the apartment complex informed them that the wanted woman lived in the apartment.
“I do not want this to happen to anyone else. So, I want someone held accountable,” said Williams.
Greystar owns the apartment complex. A spokesperson directed all questions to the police.
APD sent a statement that said:
“APD adheres to all policies and procedures related to the execution of search warrants. This was the execution of an arrest warrant based on the investigation that this location was a first-party location. Therefore, the entry was being made in reference to an arrest warrant signed by a judge.”
APD shared a copy of the department’s Standard Operating Procedures on the execution of search warrants.
The handbook said:
“Prior to executing the search warrant, the affiant will verify the information contained in the warrant, will attempt to determine if any circumstances have changed that make executing the warrant unjustifiable or undesirable, and will confirm the actual location of the search site to avoid searching the wrong location. Pictures of the exterior of the location should be taken whenever possible...When conducting the search, officers will first perform a security sweep for other individuals located or hiding within the entire premises. Officers are allowed to make a limited protective sweep when the officer possesses a reasonable belief, based on specific and articulable facts, that the area to be swept harbors an individual posing a danger to those on the search scene. This protective sweep may extend only to a cursory inspection of those spaces where a person may be found.”
Williams said the officers never searched her home for the wanted woman.
Five days later, the apartment complex replaced the busted door. The mom filed a complaint with APD. She said her trust is eroded and her mind is full of “what-ifs.”
“What if me and my boyfriend would have thought someone was breaking in and decided to defend ourselves?” said Williams. “What if I would have come to the door with my phone in my hand, and they would have thought it was a gun? What if my daughter would have just opened the door?”
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