Wearing masks and carrying rifles, Annapolis, Md., police officers serving a search warrant broke down the door of an apartment, set off a percussion grenade that released smoke and a flash of light and noise, and kicked one occupant in the groin. Then they realized that they were at the wrong address. The botched raid startled a Salvadoran immigrant couple with limited English who were cooking dinner. They thought their home was being burglarized when about a dozen police officers converged on their apartment about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, says the Baltimore Sun.
Police acknowledged their error at a news conference. Earlier, the occupants cried as they gave their account of the raid. Police said they are investigating what went wrong. “Through miscommunication and misinformation, the serving of the warrant did not go as planned,” the police department said in a statement. “I do know there was a mistake. That is not good,” said Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer.
Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-te.ar.raid08jun08,0,7646124.story?coll=bal-h