When EPD raided Louise Milan's home last June, officers were
looking for the anonymous online poster who threatened to kill police.
As it turned out, that person wasn't Louise Milan. It was Derrick Murray who has since pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Milan's attorney says EPD could have and should have approached things differently.
***
First came the flash. Then came the thunder. Now comes the lawsuit.
"If they had just taken due diligence, they never would have done this to our client," said attorney Roy Harris Jr., a partner for Biesecker Dutkanych & Macer LLC.
Harris says Louise Milan, his client, contacted his firm after the June 2012 raid. The raid was in response to online threats made against police that came from Milan's wireless network, according to police.
But those threats didn't come from Milan herself but rather Derrick Murray, her neighbor. Murray apparently used Milan's open wireless network.
"We reached out to the city and police department to see if we could informally resolve those concerns to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future," said Harris. "Quite honestly, the city's response has been, 'well, mistakes happen. We paid for the damage to the home. What else do you want?'"
Milan and Harris want punitive damages, among other things, as a result of their civil suit against the city. Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin says his department acted on and followed the information available to them. Furthermore, Chief Bolin says the SWAT team was in response to the nature of the threat.
Harris believes otherwise.
"If they had used the tools and resources available to them, they would have never gone to this particular home," said Harris. "They would have done what they did after causing all this harm to our client."
"This all kind of generally reflects a cavalier attitude that the police department has generally shown with regard to a total lack of respect for Center City residents. We don't want that to happen anymore."
Harris describes the raid as excessive, reckless and unreasonable. The lawsuit alleges the raid showed 'callous indifference' to Milan's constitutional rights. Also, Harris says the raid has caused significant mental and emotional stress to Milan.
It's important to note Evansville Police repaired the home immediately after the raid. Chief Bolin tells Eyewitness News he would like to release confidential details of the case but cannot do so because of the open civil case.
He did release a statement earlier this week which read in part:
"The SWAT team was used because of the nature of the threat. It is easy to question this decision after the fact because we did not encounter any threats while securing the home. We feel fortunate nobody tried to harm us but now that is being used against us."
As it turned out, that person wasn't Louise Milan. It was Derrick Murray who has since pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Milan's attorney says EPD could have and should have approached things differently.
***
First came the flash. Then came the thunder. Now comes the lawsuit.
"If they had just taken due diligence, they never would have done this to our client," said attorney Roy Harris Jr., a partner for Biesecker Dutkanych & Macer LLC.
Harris says Louise Milan, his client, contacted his firm after the June 2012 raid. The raid was in response to online threats made against police that came from Milan's wireless network, according to police.
But those threats didn't come from Milan herself but rather Derrick Murray, her neighbor. Murray apparently used Milan's open wireless network.
"We reached out to the city and police department to see if we could informally resolve those concerns to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future," said Harris. "Quite honestly, the city's response has been, 'well, mistakes happen. We paid for the damage to the home. What else do you want?'"
Milan and Harris want punitive damages, among other things, as a result of their civil suit against the city. Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin says his department acted on and followed the information available to them. Furthermore, Chief Bolin says the SWAT team was in response to the nature of the threat.
Harris believes otherwise.
"If they had used the tools and resources available to them, they would have never gone to this particular home," said Harris. "They would have done what they did after causing all this harm to our client."
"This all kind of generally reflects a cavalier attitude that the police department has generally shown with regard to a total lack of respect for Center City residents. We don't want that to happen anymore."
Harris describes the raid as excessive, reckless and unreasonable. The lawsuit alleges the raid showed 'callous indifference' to Milan's constitutional rights. Also, Harris says the raid has caused significant mental and emotional stress to Milan.
It's important to note Evansville Police repaired the home immediately after the raid. Chief Bolin tells Eyewitness News he would like to release confidential details of the case but cannot do so because of the open civil case.
He did release a statement earlier this week which read in part:
"The SWAT team was used because of the nature of the threat. It is easy to question this decision after the fact because we did not encounter any threats while securing the home. We feel fortunate nobody tried to harm us but now that is being used against us."
