ATLANTA — A Fulton County woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Marshals Service and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, alleging agents stormed her home in an unlawful raid while searching for a suspect who was already in custody.
Cathy George says she is still recovering from the trauma of the October 2023 incident, when she says federal agents broke down her door in the middle of the night.
“I knew I was going to die,” George said.
According to the lawsuit, George had no connection to the man authorities were seeking, Joshua Smiley, who was wanted at the time on a murder charge and a federal probation violation. Her attorneys say Smiley, who has ties to Alabama and Fort Wayne, Indiana, has no known connection to Georgia.
The lawsuit states Smiley had already been arrested months before the raid. The U.S. Marshals Service had publicly announced his arrest earlier in 2023.
Despite that, George says a large group of armed agents, including members of the U.S. Marshals Service and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office forced their way into her condominium.
Surveillance video from the home appears to show at least 15 armed agents entering the residence.
“Immediately staring down the barrels of machine-style weapons, dozens of them,” George said.
Her attorneys, including those with the Institute for Justice, argue the raid was the result of a failure in what is known as the “deconfliction” process, a system designed to prevent law enforcement agencies from conducting overlapping or mistaken operations.
“When agents are getting arrest warrants, there is a deconflict process you’re supposed to go through to prevent things like this from happening,” an attorney said. “Obviously, that didn’t happen here.”
The Institute of Justice seeks to hold both agencies accountable. George says she continues to live in fear following the incident.
“There’s no accountability, no apology,” she said. “They’ve essentially moved on with their lives, and I’m still wondering why.”
Attorneys filed paperwork in federal court this week to expedite the case.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to both the U.S. Marshals Service and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office for comment. Both entities state it does not comment on pending litigation.
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