By Jerome Burdi
Sun-Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It was 1 a.m. when the doorbell rang at the McDonald family home. Deputies rushed in screaming: “Get down. Get everyone down!”
After detaining the family for three hours in their home, the deputies left, deciding it was the wrong address.
Those are descriptions in a lawsuit filed against the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Filed this month, it alleges unlawful entry and use of excessive force during a July 10, 2008, incident at a home west of Boca Raton.
Fort Lauderdale attorney Barry Roderman complained about the incident to the sheriff’s internal affairs section, but investigators in May found the complaint “unsubstantiated,” records show.
Despite the family’s assertions, there was no evidence deputies pushed their way into their house, yelled at them or pointed their guns at anyone, the report stated.
According to the lawsuit, filed by Roderman on behalf of Larry and Dominic McDonald and their three children:
More than 10 deputies were involved in the entry. They were investigating a car burglary report, and the Sheriff’s Office dog unit led deputies from the crime scene to a home about a mile away in the 10000 block of Crescendo Circle, west of Boca Raton.
The deputies spread throughout the house, some wearing colored goggles, black vests and gloves. One wearing goggles pointed a handgun at Nicollette McDonald, 17, until it touched her chest.
As the deputies screamed for everyone to get down, two of the McDonald children, 7 and 13, “were panicked, crying, holding onto their father as if their very lives depended upon it,” the lawsuit states.
The McDonalds asked the deputies why they were in their home without a warrant.
“There was no intelligent response,” Roderman wrote. The McDonalds have since “experienced pain, insomnia, and psychological injury” along with “a severe phobia” of deputies in uniform.
Two deputies who entered the home told Sheriff’s Office internal investigators that the McDonalds gave them permission to enter the home. They also said they approached the home with guns drawn, but put them in holsters when they went inside.
Richard Mangan, a professor of criminology at Florida Atlantic University, said dog units are generally reliable, but police must decide what actions to take.
“They could be mistaken just like persons can,” Mangan said.
The McDonalds have no criminal history, Roderman said, and did not give deputies any reason “to make entry in such a lawless and vigilante style.”
Roderman also named Sheriff Ric Bradshaw as a defendant and contended he is liable for his deputies’ actions.
The Sheriff’s Office does not comment on pending litigation, said spokeswoman Teri Barbera.
That night, the deputies were investigating a possible car burglary in the 18000 block of Old Princeton Lane, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. Deputies were called when the alarm went off, though nothing was reported missing from the car. The dog unit was called in and led deputies to the McDonald house, according to the report.
The Sheriff’s Office brought in the dogs to track three people seen running from the car.
Copyright 2009 Sun-Sentinel