INDIANA — Amy Hadley has filed a lawsuit against a SWAT team for causing approximately $16,000 in damages to her home during a mistaken raid in South Bend, Indiana. The raid, which took place in June 2022, targeted Hadley’s home in search of a fugitive believed to be using the internet inside the residence.
During the operation, police launched tear gas grenades into the home and ransacked it, rendering it uninhabitable for several days. The raid resulted in the destruction of family photos, childhood drawings, clothes, electronics, and furniture. Although insurance partially covered the damages, Hadley’s requests for compensation from South Bend and St. Joseph County government agencies were rejected.
Marie Miller, Hadley’s attorney from the nonprofit Institute for Justice, emphasized that the public, not Hadley, should bear the cost of the law enforcement action, given that Hadley did nothing to warrant the destruction of her property.
The complaint details that officers from the South Bend Police Department and St. Joseph County Police Department surrounded the house after mistakenly identifying it as the fugitive’s location. Hadley, who lived there with her son and daughter, had no connection to the fugitive. During the raid, Hadley’s 15-year-old son, who was playing a video game at the time, complied with officers’ orders to come outside. The officers quickly realized he was not the person they were seeking.
Hadley expressed her trauma and frustration with the lack of apology or compensation for the damage caused by the police. With the lawsuit, she hopes the court will hold the responsible agencies accountable for their mistake. A spokesperson for South Bend declined to comment on the pending litigation, and St. Joseph County has not responded to requests for comment. The case highlights the challenges and consequences of law enforcement operations, particularly when errors in identifying
