Chesapeake woman wants house back after SWAT team tore it up

Steve isn't the only one the Pilot doesn't want you to hear from. This posting program is as one sided as the original story. Wouldn't it be nice if the paper provided us with all of the facts and then let us decide what to think. Anyone taking the Pilot story as the gospel in this case is very ignorant of the facts. When you play with fire, eventually you will get burned!

They got a tip there were fresh donunts in the house... why else would have have ripped the place apart looing for them??? Just fix the place, give the woman and her kids a decent Christmas, afterall, Chesapeake City owes her at least that....

and I bet my bottom dollar it wouldnt have went down the same way.

It's interesting that someone would suggest that a person who had her home torn apart and her children dispersed was told to "get over it." She wasn't sick in the first place! The guy didn't live there, the tip wasn't really checked out, and the police used Gestapo tactics in tearing the place up.

Telling someone to "get over it" makes about as much sense as telling someone who had the wrong surgery and got a leg amputated to "get over it." Hey, bud, that leg isn't going to grow back.

There ought to be some malpractice option for people who have their homes and their lives ripped asunder when police act on a bogus tip and rampage through a home. And a demotion or dismissal might be in order here too.

This is what we get for allowing the right wing to control Congress (until recently, thank God) and the Oval office. (Until November 08, thank God). They will allow the state to violate any of our Constitutional rights - they are just "mistakes" after all - and we have to "get over it." The state and the cops must have a free hand to do whatever they want. If they are held accountable, we will be in great danger. Our civil rights are being eroded by cowardly conservatives who don't believe our Constitution provides us adaquate protection against our enemies. They would abandon our most fundamental rights against unreasonable search and seizures (4th Amendment) so that the state can protect us. They are traitors, even if they can spell.

I just read through most of the comments. I want to say quit whining, learn how to spell and use proper grammar. The police were doing their job like they are supposed to. Thank you to the police officers. I am sorry the house is in shambles, but get over it. Bad things happen to lots of people. If you want more protocols against the police tell the liberals, so we can start getting all the officers killed here at home similar to Iraq. I support our uniformed service men/women and our troops. And I hope that the "rules" won't get so restrictive that our service members are being harmed more than they already are. Search "rules of engagement" It is not fair to our service men/women. They cannot defend themselves or our country.

What can I possibly add to a one sided story. Most of you people complaining probably aren't even interested in the other side. Thats because you really haven't any true personal emotions in the case. They were looking for the killer of a baby. Let's just skip that fact. Were there some procedures that could be done better. No doubt. However the next day they do get him holed up in another house. Perhaps after the first mistake the police should have given up rather then risk a second mistake. Is that the reasoning behind all you police bashers? Probably. Because it wasn't your baby killed. I pray none of you people ever need a policeofficer with your negative atitude towards them.

Where there is smoke, there is fire. I don't feel sympathy for this woman and many of you wouldn't either if you knew the whole story. If it is found out that this woman had criminals in her house any time in the past year, she should get nothing. I live less than a mile from this house. The police were in a dangerous situation and acted professionally. The many spectators were adding stress to their job. Please remember that the police were looking for the killer of a one year old girl. Again, many commentors here are reacting out of emotion and are not privy to some info.

I'm with Ron. There are two sides to every story and huge chunks of this story are missing. Somewhere generally in the middle of both sides of a story is the truth. So instead of jumping on the cop/city bashing bandwagon, I think I'll reserve judgment till I know more of the facts.

I saw flashlights behind my home at the oceanfront. My yard was fenced and I let my dogs out to send a message to the possible intruder. They started barking at the fence and we noticed that a dog was barking back. I stepped outside and a cop was looking over the fence screaming obscenities at me. He said if I did not take the dogs inside he would eFfin shoot them. I pulled the dogs back and told him I was calling the precinct about his behaivor. He said he was looking for someone. I pointed out that if they where in my yard, the dogs would have caught them. The entire time he was screaming and cussing. I called the 2nd and never heard from anyone. Face folks, you are collateral damage.

I don't understand the need to tear this home up...shooting out windows??? Even if any of that was necessary, this woman should not have to wait for a bunch of red tape to get back into her house. I don't think it was necessary, however, to mention race...what difference does it make? Anyone deserves to have the home put back the way it was, regardless of race, marital status, etc. A home is a home and it sounds like the police went a little crazy. If it were my home, I'd be boiling....if the suspect wasn't even in there, who were they shooting at?

Why would they do something like that????? yeah i understamd that they were trying to find the guy but mess up the ladies house!!!!! come on be serious... this lady got 6 kids n where she sleeping at now???? with other people... how u expect these people to have a good christmas and they can't ever get in their house?????? thats a shame... why didnt they send someone there after they found the boy and try to do something about the house??? if you ask me polices just want to get their money they dont care about nobody but themselves

I was trying to comment on another article a few days ago and it was flagged with a note that no one can read the post until it gets reviewed. This has never happened before. After I told them that it is their right to sensor the posts and it is my right to cancel my subscription, my post was approved.

Anyway, I am sure that there is much more to this story then we are being told. The police as a professional law enforcement organization are not allowed to defend themselves in public. We still get a sense from the story that this woman had some connections to the criminals that were the subject of the manhunt. While I feel for her plight, the best way to avoid such situations is to not associate with criminals.

It happened to my elderly parents in Isle of Wight County several years back. An escapee from NC was heading through the area, said he would never be taken alive and just picked an address out of the phone book to use to cover his tracks. My mom and dad lived there for years, the sheriff knew it, but deputies and federal marshalls surrounded the house. Luckily when my dad walked out the door to see what was up, he didn't take his shotgun as usual, they would have killed him on the spot. Mom had a heart attack. But if you read the warrant, the government is not responsible for any damages or injuries incurrred while executing a warrant. You want it to change, write the lawmakers.

The story does not contain all the information. There is no view point from the police side and unfortunately probably never will be. I am sure there is a lot more going on than any of you realize. Maybe the Police should come to your jobs without any knowledge of it and tell you what they think you did wrong even if you feel you did not.

Those evil people at the Pilot apparently didn't censor your rantings about censorship .... but we get that you support a police state where the government is always justified when it invades a person's home.

Believe it or not, the police are not the bad guys. Yes it is a shame that the lady's home was shot up with tear gas, but wait and think for a moment. What if the guy was in there? Would you rather have the police go in there and possible get into a shoot out with the guy and then the police would be "trigger happy" or try and gas him out. Believe it or not, some bad guys think ahead and do have gas masks just for this reason ( for the person who said they should not have gone in because he didn't come out from the gas). It is a bad situation that this happened at Christmas, but get off the police's back. They are just trying to make the city a safer place and no matter what they do, they are always in the wrong according to the citizens.

..."holes shot into mattresses"? Great fire discipline guys! Did we watch too many movies the night before? The city should fix this for this lady..or does the fact that she lives in "South Norfolk" allow the city to drag its feet? Totally obscene story and very unsettling! As former LE, I am disturbed that this happened. What intel did they have? And the "shootings into the bed"? This department needs looking into at a state and federal level. I can not justify or rationalize these actions!

Be warned--I posted comments that were counter to many of the anti-law enforcement/ pro-criminal comments and whoever screens these post choice to remove them. That is why this thread seems so one side-sided since anyone in disagreement with the editors was likely also censored.

I think the editors should post disclaimer that states "only options we agree with will be posted here." This is sad.

There needs to be a public outcry. This family is scattered around and to make it worst it is Christmas time. Ms. Morris even complained about this thug to the authorities. I may not be a detective but I would question why someone who wanted this person off the streets would harbor the fugitive. If the city of Chesapeake does not act now, I am making a plea for an organized effort to help Ms. Morris. If anyone from her church or another community organization read my post please post information on any efforts to get Ms. Morris and her children under one roof. And to the City of Chesapeake you need to repair her home and provide compensation for your negligence.

A family has lost the use of their home and a mothers children are scattered throughout the city versus under the one roof she's worked so hard to acquire. City of Chesapeake - this is your time to shine and have a great PR moment. Yes, everyone's watching especially our youth because they are some of the friends and classmates of the children affected. Don't leave a sour taste in their minds and spirits...give them something to smile about. If habitat for humanity can build homes in a week I'm sure the cities resources can restore this home in that amount of time. Don't place such a burden on a single parent - work this out for her.

What happened to this family's home is ridiculous! Had this been in some other neighborhood, not only would it not have happened, but, if it did happen, the turn around time to repair the damage would have been minimal...so fast that the story wouldn't have made it to print... Cheapeake... Fix this already!!!

This type of crap happens all too often in African American lives...I would feel the same no matter the race, but this is just another example of why there is so much distrust btwn black america and law enforcement...44 years of hard work to finally own a home only to see it destroyed by the actions of insensitive Chesapeake police...if their intel was good, why the sheer destruction and no suspect apprehended at the residence? As as fellow citizen of Chesapeake, we deserve and demand better of our uniformed officers and leadership.....we understand mistakes happen but at least have the deceny to admit it and make things right immediately.....

After cops shot tear gas in the house and no one came out should have been a signal no one was in the house. Why did they go in and tear it up anyway?

In this type of a case when the police know what happened compleaty a case shouldn't even have to be filed. The police should look at it themselves. After they raid the house and find nothing they should go right back to the office and start paperwork on paying the owner back. This should be even quicker when it's a family, single mother or not. If a family lives in the house it should be done quicker. It's not like the has to prove anything. They know what they did. The only thing the lady should have to do is list things in the house to replace. But the police should come to her for that list why should she have to do any extra work. She was doing what she was supposed to be doing at the time.. working, Taking care of her kids.

There should be immediate clean up done! Ther is no excuse for the city dragging it's feet. It's Christmas! How terrible. She deserves a lot more than just her house put back together.

It seems the city really needs to do some fix up on this situation fast. It could happen to anyone. What happens if she was armed and defending her house when they popped in? They need to move quickly to remedy this situation. I love how they trash your house and then it's up to the homeowner to submit a claim. Really they should be like the insurance industry and get someone out fast to expedite this stupid situation back to closure. Wonder what they would do differently if this was a judges house?

Virginia Beach police kicked in my back privacy fence while looking for a suspect at night. It was after midnight and I only knew what happened because my dogs were barking about something in the back yard. I looked out and saw multiple flashlights around my yard. I called the PD thinking my house was going to be robbed, and they said they were searching for a suspect and it was officers. They told me to stay inside. The next day I saw that they kicked apart my fence to get into my yard so I called the PD to find out how to get reimbursement. They said I would have had to get the badge number of one of the officers who was there. They told me to stay inside! I wouldn't have even known what happened if my dogs didn't react to their presence.

Should be contacting her not the other way around. It's Christmas time and this woman's home is a mess, not to mention the kids Christmas gifts. For Pete sakes, clean it up and pay for everything the police destroyed. Forget the red tape just do it. It was a terrible mistake, but has happened before and Chesapake needs to step up to the plate and correct their mess.

...this family needs to hire an attorney right now and sue the City. The requirement for the victim of this apparently inappropriate action to file a claim reflects a serious deficieny in the laws and regulations in the City of Chesapeake. I support the police when the behave correctly, but when they are wrong they need to make appropriate amends to their victims, and do so immediately.