Boston SWAT Team Raided Wrong Home: ACLU

BOSTON, MA — Guns drawn, a Boston police SWAT team battered open the door of a Brighton family's apartment as they slept on a cold morning in November. Officers handcuffed parents Jean and Verlande Regis and their 15-year-old daughter as the couple's other children — ages 4 and 5 — watched on. The officers said they had a search warrant and were trying to locate a suspect.

But it turned out they had the wrong apartment. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of the family, filed a lawsuit against Boston police. The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including requesting police adopt policies to prevent a future mix-up.

The raid happened at the Regis family's residence in a public housing complex on Faneuil Street Nov. 27 at about 4:30 a.m.

"The [SWAT] team was given instructions to enter the first apartment on the right when entering the floor," the lawsuit reads. "The Regis family’s apartment, however, was the first apartment on the left ... Police officials later admitted that there was no lawful basis for the entry into the Regis home."

The Regis family said they woke up to the sound of a loud crash as the officers broke down their front door with a battering ram. About a dozen officers forced their way in raided every room in the apartment, including closets, according to court documents. Verlande Regis jumped out of bed and went to see what the noise was, at which point she encountered officers who pointed their guns at her, pushed her to the ground and handcuffed her, according to the complaint.

An officer then pointed a firearm at her husband Jean Regis as he lay in bed, ordered him to get up, pressed him against the wall and handcuffed him, according to the suit.

The couple's 15-year-old daughter said she woke up when she heard her mother scream and attempted to open her bedroom door, but was shoved back by an officer using a shield. The officer ordered the girl to the floor and handcuffed her, according to the lawsuit.

The three of them were kept in handcuffs for about 20 minutes in front of the younger children as officers searched the apartment.

The family said they suffered trauma from the event and the young children ask their parents if they are bad and hide under the bed "from the police."

"Police failed to take appropriate steps to avoid entering the wrong house, violated the family’s rights, and caused great emotional harm. Police are sworn to keep the peace and public safety, not to violently bang down the wrong door and assault innocent residents of Boston," said Ruth Bourquin, senior attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, in an emailed statement to Patch.

Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).