A South Bend woman is suing the city and St. Joseph County for damages their police officers caused to her home during a SWAT team raid.
Amy Hadley’s 15-year-old son Noah thought the police officer shouting commands through a bullhorn was part of his video game, until he heard him say his street address.
Noah then walked out of his home with his hands up in the 1800 block of East Calvert Street on that day, June 10, 2022. Police cuffed him and took him to the police station.
Amy Hadley wasn’t home at the time but a neighbor saw the SWAT officers gathering and called her. She says police then raided their home, shattering windows with tear-gas cannisters, throwing flash-bang grenades through the front door, entering the house, and ransacking it.
Police ultimately located the suspect a few hours later in another part of the city.
Representing Hadley is the Arlington, Virginia-based Institute for Justice, a national libertarian public interest law firm.
The constitutional law firm also is helping a Los Angeles printer whose equipment was damaged during a police raid, a Texas woman whose home was wrecked during a SWAT raid, and a Texas farmer whose fields have flooded because of a highway project.
The Institute for Justice says that South Bend police believed the suspect had been accessing social media from inside Hadley’s home. She has insisted neither she nor her children had any connection to him.
Hadley’s homeowner’s insurance did not cover all the costs of repairs, leaving her with at least $16,000 in costs to pay out of her own pocket. The firm says Hadley has asked the city and county to compensate her for the damages, but they’ve been unresponsive.
A South Bend police spokeswoman declined WVPE’s interview request, saying the department does not comment on pending litigation.
Hadley’s attorney in the case, Marie Miller, said Hadley is a medical assistant and was not available for comment Monday. Here’s what Hadley says in a video on the group’s website.
"I don't want to stay in this house," Hadley says. "Every time the door knocks I get scared. I just want justice for people who are in the same predicament as my family."
