A Fox Hills woman who says she was awakened, restrained at a muzzle and handcuffed by a SWAT team is suing Los Angeles and city police stations, claiming that officers accidentally targeted her home.
The case is the latest in a series of lawsuits against LAPD claiming civil rights violations during a home attack. According to public records analyzed by The Times, the department paid 10 settlements in 2018, totaling over $2 million.
The court’s application says the case occurred. Her teenage son stayed at her father’s house around 13 last year, when 48-year-old Danine Dean was home alone.
According to her lawsuit, Dean, who was filed in federal court in Los Angeles this month, heard the pounding at the door and opened it to see the assault rifle pointing to her. She claims she was escorted outside in her pyjamas and barefoot and was detained for more than an hour while the SWAT team searched her home.
In an interview with the Times, Dean told her that three detectives had arrived and had robberies in the area. They brought her back inside and let her sit, she recalled before searching her apartment and emptying all the drawers and compartments. It is unclear why LAPD is running there.
She said the detective showed her a picture of a young black man and asked her if she had ever seen him. She didn’t recognize him, but they had something in common.
“They said that the person’s name was Devante Dean and we had the same last name, so it just happened to be a coincidence,” Dean said. “My last name is not that unusual.”
Initially, investigators asked if they were related, Dean claimed – then they tried another line of questions.
” [detectives] I began to ask if my son knew him or if he was one of his friends,” she said. [Devante Dean] It was related to me, but is he now my son’s friend? ”
An hour later, Dean’s lawsuit says officers told her the search was wrong. She later visited a local police station to file a complaint about the case, her lawsuit says, but when there was no departmental tracing, she decided to bring the matter to court.
A spokesman for the City Attorney’s Office, representing LAPD in the case, declined to comment after suing the lawsuit.
Psychologist Dean said he has owned the house for over 23 years and has no criminal history. When she wanted to calm down and start a family with her husband at the time, she says she chose Culver City’s Fox Hills area.
“Growing up in Fullerton, I was around people who didn’t necessarily look like me. But when I moved to LA, I wanted to walk down my street and meet people who looked like me and my family. It was a big draw for the neighborhood,” Dean said.
Since the incident, Dean says she has always had the upper hand. Her children have not returned home yet. She has lived there for 23 years, as she is afraid to visit. She is now considering the move.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to live here for a long time. I’ve been completely interrupted,” Dean said. “It makes me very sad. I think that’s all I can say, especially knowing I made so many memories here with my kids and family.”
Dean’s lawsuit name Det. That night, Carlos Carrillo is the person who “seems to be in charge of” the attack. He did not respond to a message sent to an email in his department on Tuesday.
Dean and her attorney, Ian Wallach, said they have not yet accessed the affidavit behind the search warrant.
“We usually have access to the affidavits behind the search warrant. We couldn’t do that,” Wallach said. “We called the judge’s room and went to the clerk’s office. We went everywhere, but we couldn’t go to an affidavit that says why this happened.
Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.
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