RITA COOK / Freelance Writer
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WAXAHACHIE – A 2019 case in which the Waxahachie Police Department, and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, attempted to execute a search warrant on a suspected methamphetamine stash house in Lancaster, Texas and raided the wrong house has now made its way to the United States Supreme Court.
According to a media release by Dan King at IJ Communications, Waxahachie’s SWAT Team Lieutenant Mike Lewis ordered the team to “go to the house just to the left” and conduct the raid at 593 8th Street, versus 573 8th Street after they at first almost made a raid on another incorrect home, then followed by the actual raid on the second wrong address.
Lewis’ team, according to the release, entered the home of Karen Jimerson and James Parks even though the address did not match the one listed on the warrant.
Even worse, the houses had obvious physical differences.
Lewis knew the target house was surrounded by a fence, had a large garage behind it (that police planned to search), and had its address posted on the front porch.
Jimerson’s house had no porch, fence, or garage. What it did have was an impossible-to-miss wheelchair ramp that officers had to ascend on their way into the wrong house.
“This was not a difficult, split-second decision. Lewis had plenty of time, and he had plenty of information to ensure he was raiding the correct house,” said IJ Senior Attorney Patrick Jaicomo.
“Qualified immunity should not shield Lewis for his plain incompetence.”
When police arrived, Jimerson had just gotten out of the shower and her three minor children and James were asleep in the home.
Apparently, Lewis had ordered the team to conduct a “break and rake.”
Without knocking or announcing themselves, officers shattered every front window, “covering Jimerson’s children with glass, detonated a flashbang grenade, and smashed down the front door.”
Then, upon entering, they ordered Jimerson to the ground where she was held for several minutes.
Jimerson later said, according to the media release, “This raid was a traumatizing experience for me, and my kids still have flashbacks of the raid.”
Waxahachie Police did conduct an internal investigation and found that “reasonable and normal protocol was completely overlooked,” and the police chief at the time who is no longer the police chief in Waxahachie said the mistake never should have happened, and Lewis was suspended without pay for only two days.
Jimerson and Parks sued, but it was deemed 2-1 by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Lewis was entitled to qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity is a judge-made legal doctrine that shields government officials from accountability when they violate people’s constitutional rights.
The court stated according to the release Lewis made “significant efforts to identify the correct residence” before he ordered officers to storm the wrong one.
The dissenting judge in the 2-1 decision disagreed, writing “it is ‘beyond debate’ that Lewis’ efforts to identify the target house were constitutionally deficient.”
With that, Jimerson and Parks are now asking the Supreme Court to rule that officers who ignore the Constitution are not above the law.
“Qualified immunity has run amok,” said IJ Attorney Dylan Moore. “The Supreme Court must ensure that victims of obvious constitutional violations, like Karen and James, are not denied a day in court.”
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