Three police officers from Tennessee have been decommissioned after they raided the wrong house with guns and forced a naked woman to come outside her home. Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers raided the home of the woman named Azaria Hines last Tuesday, as reported by WSMV.
The woman who was not wearing any clothes was asleep on her sofa following a late shift when she heard a banging outside. After she realized that the officers were creating the chaos, Hines asked them to hold on, but in vain.
Officers Did Not Allow the Woman to Wear a Shirt
The body camera footage from the raid showed that Hines tried to ask the cops to wait while they broke the door down with a battery ram that occurred in less than 30 seconds after they shouted warnings.
After smashing the door frame, the officers burst inside with guns drawn at the naked woman. Hines tried to reach for a shirt but she was prevented from doing so. The cops rushed through her home and forced the woman's three-year-old nephew and 15-year-old cousin outside the house.
After a few minutes, they informed Hines that they had the wrong home. The cops were looking for a 16-year-old in connection with vehicle burglaries. The Interim Chief John Drake confirmed that the address the MNPD used to serve the search warrant was outdated. The department got the information through the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency that did not provide updates on residents since 2018. The woman was only living there for six months.
Lt. Harrison Dooley, Sgt. Jeff Brown and Officer Michael Richardson have been decommissioned pending an investigation. The department is going to review its search warrant procedures as they tried to comfort Hines by dropping groceries at her place. But she was not impressed by the gesture.
"Groceries isn't what I need. I need a peace of mind. I haven't had any sleep since this happened. I haven't had a whole night of sleep since this happened. I don't feel comfortable in my own home. My door is still not fixed all the way," Hines said.
