Indiana Woman Sues Police for $16,000 Damages from Botched SWAT Raid

Amy Hadley's home was mistakenly targeted in a search for a fugitive, leading to extensive property damage and raising questions about who should bear the cost of such law enforcement errors.

Amy Hadley, an Indiana woman, is suing her local police department, the city of South Bend, and St. Joseph County for a botched SWAT raid on her home in June 2022, which caused an estimated $16,000 in damages.
The lawsuit alleges that the police wrongly linked fugitive John Parnell Thomas's Facebook activity and IP address to Hadley's home, leading to the mistaken raid.
During the raid, Hadley's 15-year-old son was the only one home. He was handcuffed and taken to a police station, despite officers immediately recognizing that he was not the fugitive they were seeking.
Police used over 30 tear gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, causing extensive damage to the property and rendering it uninhabitable for several days.
Despite Hadley's attempts to seek compensation for the damages, she has received no response from the involved agencies. Her lawsuit is now seeking to establish that the public, not individual homeowners, should bear the cost of such law enforcement actions.