ARROGANCE PLAYED ROLE IN STATE'S BLUNDER

Imagine the terror. You are sitting peacefully in your home in the late
evening hours maybe even sleeping when armed officers crash through your
door, pin you to the floor and apply handcuffs to your wrists.

Fifteen officers, accompanied by a drug-sniffing dog, literally ransack
your house. They tear open every drawer, clear every closet and overturn
every piece of furniture in search of illegal drugs.

Three hours later, when no drugs are found, the officers come to the
realization they have entered the wrong home. Innocent civilians have
been violated and police credibility harmed.

One quickly thinks this is the stuff of fiction; it doesn't happen in
real life. Unfortunately it does, and it happened right here in
Manitowoc County when state drug enforcement agents, working with the
Manitowoc County Metro Drug Task Force, the Brown County Drug Task Force
and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration entered the
wrong house in Osman while executing a search warrant.

While we find the officers' actions irresponsible, we can rationalize
and understand because police officers are human, a species prone to
mistakes. Like the members of the multi-agency task force, we pray that
all goes well when dangerous search warrants are executed. After all,
the warrants are on our behalf; they protect society from those who wish
to do it harm.

While area residents might be quick to find fault and even compare the
incident to those at Ruby Ridge and Waco, where federal agents made poor
judgments and citizens were killed, this action was nothing of the sort.
It was local agents our friends and neighbors who were misdirected by
agents of the state.

Fortunately, nobody involved in the Osman affair was seriously injured.
The Spanish-speaking residents were frightened and bruised. Private
property endured the greatest damage.

Mitch Henck, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's office, said
an internal review is under way in an effort to ensure that a similar
error doesn't happen again.

"We've expressed our apologies to the residents, and take full
responsibility," he said.

But has the state taken full responsibility?

Local and state officials tried to conceal the incident from the news
media. The state's hesitance to make reparation to the residents is what
brought the family to this newspaper looking for help.

As understanding as we can be for the misdirected assault, we cannot
accept the state's disregard for the damage it inflicted.

The day after the wrongful invasion, state and local officials bragged
about a simultaneous and related drug raid that netted the second
largest methamphetamine seizure in the state's history. While police
huffed and puffed and garnered our praise, a lowly family in Osman tried
to put the pieces of their lives together after the most horrific night
anyone could endure. And the state did nothing.

That, of course, is the greatest mistake of all, because it reeks of
arrogance, not error or stupidity. The state should be ashamed.
Residents of this state, and especially those of Manitowoc County,
deserve far better.