Lafayette family to sue LPD, claims they were wrongfully accused, detained at their home
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- A Lafayette family said they plan to sue the Lafayette Police Department after they claim they were wrongfully accused and detained at their home Saturday night.
The family said they were eventually let go after Lafayette Police never found the suspect they thought was in the home.
Daryl Washington, an attorney representing the family, said that the family could have been hurt or worse.
"This is not something that you can just say, 'Oops, I apologize, I made a mistake,'" Washington said. "This is something where you actually traumatize a family for no lawful reason at all."
Surveillance footage by the family shows officers arriving at the home around 10 p.m. Saturday.
The video shows officers bringing one woman out of the home, asking her to walk towards them and keep her hands up. At the same time, a man tells police in the driveway his wife and kids are in the home. Officers tell him to put his hands up as well.
Officers then approach the front door of the home with drawn guns and a K-9 officer. One officer knocks on the door and asks the residents in the home to come out, or a police dog would be let in.
"K9 officer, we'll let the dog bite you," the officer is heard saying in the video.
After about 30 minutes, an officer explains to a resident what was happening.
"Like I said, we're in the middle of an investigation," the officer said in the video. "In the middle of an investigation trying to figure out what was going on. From what we knew, there was a suspect inside the house."
Washington said the officers need to be held accountable for their actions.
"They need to own up, what they did was wrong," Washington said. "I think they need to come out and not try to justify what these police officers did. I think they need to look at the actions of these police officers and I do believe, in a situation like this, these officers need to be disciplined."
The Lafayette Police Department declined to comment due to the impending lawsuit. Washington said a suit has not yet been filed by the family.
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