HALLANDALE POLICE DENY THEY RAIDED WRONG HOME

HALLANDALE BEACH -- A year ago, Hallandale Beach Police raided the wrong
house during a drug bust operation.

They apologized. They said they were sorry. But this time police officials
are not offering apologies for the recent drug raid of a home, whose tenant
claims is another mistake.

"This is the correct residence," said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Lawrence
Faragher during a Wednesday press conference. "There is no mistake in this
case. There's no need for an apology."

A week ago, the police department conducted a drug raid of a home at 27 SW
Ninth St. About 7 p.m. on Feb. 2, an armed police SWAT team dressed in black
barged into the home where 28-year-old Tracey Bell, who is nine months
pregnant, sat in her living room talking to her mother on the telephone.
Bell's two daughters, ages 10 and 11, were with her.

"They ran after my 10-year-old and a cop pulled me down on the floor," said
Bell. "He handcuffed me."

Police explained to Bell that they had a search warrant and that drugs had
been sold from her home. Bell told police they had the wrong place.

"They know they picked the wrong house," said Bell. "My house is not a drug
house."

Allegations of wrong-house drug raids aren't new to Hallandale Beach. A year
ago, a police SWAT team surprised a couple as the door to their apartment
came tumbling down and the team of men in black searched them for drugs and
guns. The couple is now suing Hallandale Beach, which admitted to raiding
the wrong home.

In the most recent raid case, the police department denied that officers
forced Bell to the floor.

Faragher said once officers realized Bell was pregnant they decided not to
handcuff her. Police even called a rescue truck in case Bell didn't feel
well. But she declined to be taken to the hospital.

However, during the raid, a drug-sniffing dog alerted narcotics officers to
a smell coming from a kitchen table and a dresser in a bedroom, police said.
A white substance was visible only on the kitchen table, but the amount was
too small to be recovered or tested, they said. Police found nothing else in
Bell's home.

"It was not enough to make an arrest," Faragher said. "But the dog alerts to
a narcotics substance."

The police department's raid was part of the city's increased efforts to
clean up its southwest area. Residents have complained about increased drug
sales in the mainly working-class section.

Bell, who has no criminal record, said she was one of the residents who
repeatedly called police to complain about suspicious activity outside her
duplex.

On Wednesday, neighbors talked anonymously, fearing reprisals from criminals
who frequent the area. They said Bell was known for picking up her phone to
call police.

Bell, a single mother of three, is now on maternity leave from her job as a
McDonald's manager.

A "reliable" confidential informant, whom the police department has used at
least 75 times, led police to Bell's home, Faragher said. Police arranged a
controlled purchase of drugs during the weeks of Jan. 1 through Jan. 24.

According to a police report, the informant made contact with a man in front
of Bell's home. The man then knocked on Bell's door and exchanged something
with a woman inside. The man then walked back to the informant and handed
something to the informant. When the informant rejoined the undercover
officers, he turned in one piece of crack cocaine.

Faragher didn't comment on whether the female in the house was Bell.

"We can't say she was at home when the drug bust took place," Faragher said.

Bell said she's the only one with access to her home. As of Wednesday, she
hadn't decided on whether to take legal action against the city.

"I've never sold drugs," Bell said.