Police officers stood by as bounty hunters searched home without a warrant, lawsuit says
A couple in upstate New York has filed a lawsuit against the city of Buffalo, its police commissioner and others after armed bounty hunters raided their home last month, according to reports.Jake Reinhardt was woken up suddenly after two Pennsylvania bounty hunters armed with a shotgun and AR-15 semi-automatic rifle pounded on his front door late at night, the Buffalo News reported. Seven police officers from the Buffalo department were seen standing by at the scene.
Reinhardt, shirtless and barefoot, was forced outside at gunpoint by the bounty hunters while his eight months pregnant fiancé clutched their 3-year-old daughter inside the residence, the report said.
The bounty hunters told Reinhardt they were looking for his brother, Luke Reinhardt, a fugitive, according to the lawsuit. He had his bond revoked for failure to appear in court in Lebanon, Pa., where he was charged with several misdemeanors.
Reinhardt can be heard on home surveillance video that Luke does not live at the residence and was not in the home at the time, local media reported.
As the two men go to enter the home to conduct a search, Reinhardt can be heard asking if they have a warrant, WKBW-TV reported. The bounty hunters do not produce any paperwork and ask Reinhardt to step aside before entering the home with their guns drawn.
Buffalo couple sues after armed bounty hunters raid the wrong home: reports
A couple in upstate New York has filed a lawsuit against the city of Buffalo, its police commissioner and others after armed bounty hunters raided their home last month, according to reports.
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