Family startled by deputies serving warrant at wrong house

Thursday, September 10, 2020
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A retired officer is calling deputies' response unprofessional and intimidating after they broke down his front door to serve a warrant. The problem though, it was not the right house.

"The officers are looking for a Curtis Rogers in this house and there is no Curtis Rogers that lives in this house," said Louis Rodriguez's son.
Deputies smashed in the door on an innocent family during a wrong-house raid

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Video of what happened to the Rodriguez family on Sept. 1 shows the Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies at the door trying to serve a warrant.

"They went that quickly to bust my front door down and come to my home," said Rodriguez, a retired police officer.

He said it all happened so fast, his family was startled. Rodriguez said when he first looked out his window and heard the commotion he didn't know what to think. It was a chaotic situation.

"Out of control yelling, demanding, threatening they wanted to come in. I wasn't sure they were police officers at the time," he said.

SEE ALSO: Man files lawsuit against deputy after mistaken identity case

Rodriguez said he yelled out he was a retired officer and he wanted to see the warrant.



"Sir, you have the wrong house," yelled out Rodriguez's son in the video.
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However, within minutes the deputies bust the door open and the family was taken outside.

"(They) manhandled myself and my son and brought us outside. (Then) they finally realized the mistake they made," he said.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office issued the following statement:

Deputies attempting to execute an arrest warrant on Sept. 1 mistakenly approached the wrong home in the 21100 block of Royal Villa Drive and damaged the front door. Deputies subsequently realized they made a mistake and the sheriff's office arranged to have the door replaced. The sheriff's office regrets the mistake and the incident is under review.

A captain on scene that day did apologize to the family.



"That apology didn't suffice for me," Rodriguez said.
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Rodriguez told ABC13 he's glad nothing major happened, but he can't help to think it could have taken a different turn.

"That played on my mind. That's another reason I was afraid," he said.

He's now looking for a lawyer and hoping to file a complaint with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.



"I'd hate for this to happen to any family in Harris County," he said.

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