So my neighbors were raided by the swat team...

[FIRE me]

Last night, a house near mine was raided by a swat team. Assault rifles, flash bangs, one black van, and about 8 more cars. All vehicles were unmarked, and all kept their lights off, and no one was in uniform.

Being a rainy night, it was very dark and so hard to see what was going on. A neighbor said he saw a police dog being taken into the house, so we are suspecting drugs of some type.

The house attracting the swat team were new neighbors, so I am reluctant to go over and introduce myself, following up with a “By the way, what the fuck was going on over here last night”?

While the raid was in progress, one of my neighbors walked up and asked one of the plainclothes law enforcement what was going one, and he refused to say what it was about.

All I have is the date the warrant was served, the address, and the full name of the owner of the house (obtained from real estate records). Although of course, the owner of the house was not necessarily the subject of the warrant.

I'd really like to know what is going on just two houses up the street from me. Are search and arrest warrants in Kentucky public records?

If not, would the local police be likely to tell me anything if I showed up at the local police station and asked nicely?

[Blatant]

Search warrants MAY be public record if not sealed. An easier task, if you know which department served the warrant, is to make a public records request for the actual police report on the incident.

Just because there was a K9 doesn't mean it was a dope warrant. Most operators use at least one dog in their entry stick as a matter of course.

The detectives on scene wouldn't provide information because:

a) they can't
b) they don't know if you're a co-conspirator
c) it's not your business

[Indexer]

https://louisvilleky.gov/government/police/services/crime-maps

This should help. I know in many states you can also pull arrest records.

[FIRE me]

Thanks for that. I was already aware of the crime maps. They only show crime incidents reported to the police, and petty crime arrests like prostitution or traffic stops resulting in drug possession charges.

Unfortunately, more serous arrests that were initiated by investigation and warrants do not appear on those maps.

About a general search of arrest records, That would require a name, and I saw the home owner out and about today. So she did not get arrested.

[Another Reader]

Information about Superior Court cases is often published on the internet.  You will probably need a name to use in the records search.

[galliver]

I don't know what the probabilities are, but it could have been an error...

http://www.businessinsider.com/9-horrifying-botched-police-raids-2012-2?op=1/#at-team-puts-22-bullets-into-a-former-marine-while-his-wife-and-child-cower-in-a-closet-nothing-illegal-found-9

Or this horrible thing...http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/us/georgia-toddler-stun-grenade-no-indictment/

It's frustrating how difficult it is to get info on stuff like this... I don't know that I agree it's "not your business". If someone is cooking meth or selling guns 2 houses down I kind of want to know. Esp if there's kids.

[FIRE me]

I don't know what the probabilities are, but it could have been an error...

http://www.businessinsider.com/9-horrifying-botched-police-raids-2012-2?op=1/#at-team-puts-22-bullets-into-a-former-marine-while-his-wife-and-child-cower-in-a-closet-nothing-illegal-found-9

Or this horrible thing...http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/us/georgia-toddler-stun-grenade-no-indictment/

It's frustrating how difficult it is to get info on stuff like this... I don't know that I agree it's "not your business". If someone is cooking meth or selling guns 2 houses down I kind of want to know. Esp if there's kids.

That is a very good point. Just because a warrant was served doesn't mean they are guilty.

[Debts_of_Despair]

I vote meth lab.

[FIRE me]

Information about Superior Court cases is often published on the internet.  You will probably need a name to use in the records search.

That is a good idea. Local court case docket info is online here in Louisville. But, there would have had to have been an arrest, and I would have to get lucky with the arrestee having the same last name as the home owner.

[FIRE me]

I vote meth lab.

They don't look like meth heads. And no strange smells emanating from their property.

[Blatant]

Super-labs in Mexico where pseudo-ephedrine is legal have made the concept of American heartland meth labs obsolete.

While I understand disagreement with the idea of "it's not your business," legally, "it's not your business." If the warrant was served at YOUR house and YOUR kid got arrested, would you want the cops telling all your neighbors what happened?

[FIRE me]

They don't send out the swat team and another 8 cars for some minor possession charge. Additionally, if it were my son or daughter, I would not be expecting privacy. You give up your physical freedom and some other rights when you get arrested. The right to privacy is one of them.

[Another Reader]

I would also chat up the other neighbors to find out what they know (or guess).  Someone may have the complete story. 

[FIRE me]

Already done. No one has the whole story, yet.

[geekette]

The house across the street was "swatted" at least 5 years ago.

A box containing drugs addressed to our neighbor got sniffed out at the PO, and the police chief "delivered" it to the homeowner late in the day, asking if he would accept a package. Next thing you know, a van emptied out and there were police and guns everywhere, and our neighbor was on the ground in handcuffs.

My mom, sister, nephew and I were doing yard work in the back, so we heard the commotion and naturally gawked. The police chief brought the neighbor's two elementary school kids across the street for us to look after while they searched the house (their Mom wasn't home yet). They removed some computers, I believe, and one Barney Fife managed to accidentally discharge his gun into the floor of their bonus room down into the garage (rolls eyes).

The wife came over the next day with a gift card for taking care of their kids and to tell us her version of the snafu.  Story is (and I believe it), that drugs were mailed to their house, with the intent that said box would be snatched from the porch before the owner of the house got home.  Our neighbor was released and nothing untoward has happened since.

[SwordGuy]

You have to be careful about property records and the names of people who live in the house.

A few examples:

Our county online property tax records show the name of the people who lived there last year.  So if I buy a house in February my name doesn't show up in the online property tax record as the owner for 10 more months.  (Ask me how I know.)

County property tax records show the owner's name, not the resident's name.   The owner may have a different mailing address, which is a pretty good give-away that the owner and resident aren't the same.

County Registrar of deeds will show information that might be more up-to-date, but there's no guarantee.   Depends on the state and the real estate contract and how quickly they get the data into the computer.

[SwordGuy]

Forgot to mention we used to live in an old apt building next to a neat Victorian house that Woodrow Wilson's wife used to live in at one time.   

It got bought and fixed up.

Our bedroom was about 15 feet from the back door of that house.    We would hear someone knock on the door in the evening, then someone would go out and go in.  About 30 minutes later this would repeat.  This went on for some hours, for several nights in a row.   We thought it was a bit odd.

We woke up about midnight one night to blue lights flashing all over the place.

The new neighbors had turned the place into a homosexual whorehouse.   (Not that I particularly care about homosexual part one way or the other.)   

[spicykissa]

This used to happen with some regularity in the low-income neighborhood I grew up in. Everyone watched during the raid, of course, but asking/trying to find out what happened after was a huge social faux pas. I'm guessing this isn't a normal occurrence in your neighborhood, though.

"Swatting" (calling the police and telling them there are guns/drugs/etc at an address) to mess with people is also a thing--doesn't mean your neighbors did anything illegal at all. They would be victims themselves if that is the case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting

[Indexer]

They don't send out the swat team and another 8 cars for some minor possession charge. Additionally, if it were my son or daughter, I would not be expecting privacy. You give up your physical freedom and some other rights when you get arrested. The right to privacy is one of them.

No, you shouldn't give up your right to privacy when arrested. Anyone can be arrested for any stupid reason. That is why we have courts and that is why we have the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

You should be able to find information on this once there is a conviction.

[Spork]

Our county (and many, many other counties where I've searched) has BOTH court records AND arrest records publicly available online (wtih awesome mugshot photo goodness).  I've been able to search for and find my own meth-head neighbors there.

Now that body cameras are getting common, I suspect body camera footage is also publicly requestable.  I know I was able to purchase a dash cam video of an acquaintance's DUI arrest for $1.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

They don't send out the swat team and another 8 cars for some minor possession charge. Additionally, if it were my son or daughter, I would not be expecting privacy. You give up your physical freedom and some other rights when you get arrested. The right to privacy is one of them.

They use SWAT teams for ridiculous stuff. Honestly I'd be more afraid of the police than the neighbors.

[Blatant]

What ridiculous things do "they" use SWAT teams for? Seriously. Direct experience please, and not some black helicopter shit you read on the internet.

And, clearly, it's much, much more rational to be afraid of the cops than the criminals in your neighborhood. Totally makes sense.

[SimpleSpartan]

What ridiculous things do "they" use SWAT teams for? Seriously. Direct experience please, and not some black helicopter shit you read on the internet.

And, clearly, it's much, much more rational to be afraid of the cops than the criminals in your neighborhood. Totally makes sense.

+1

[Spork]

What ridiculous things do "they" use SWAT teams for? Seriously. Direct experience please, and not some black helicopter shit you read on the internet.

And, clearly, it's much, much more rational to be afraid of the cops than the criminals in your neighborhood. Totally makes sense.

While it's probably not exactly what ShoulderThing was referring to...  it has actually become semi-common to call in bogus emergency calls that likely cause a SWAT response.  It's called "swatting" and it's done "for fun" and as an "F-You".  Security reporter Brian Krebs has had it done to him at least twice. 

One example: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/03/the-world-has-no-room-for-cowards/

[Blatant]

While it is certainly interesting, did you read the link? That was not a SWAT response. It was a patrol response. Completely different situation than the one originally posted.

[Spork]

While it is certainly interesting, did you read the link? That was not a SWAT response. It was a patrol response. Completely different situation than the one originally posted.

Um, yeah, I read it. 

SWATting is a real thing.  As the 'bad guy' calling it in, you don't really get to choose the exact team that descends on a house.  It depends on how the police determine the threat. 

I'd say the biggest difference is that Krebs walked out of the house and surprised the police before they had a chance to make an entrance.

[Blatant]

I didn't argue whether or not it was a "real thing." Clearly it is.

I was commenting on your initial post in which you said "...bogus emergency calls that likely cause a SWAT response." And the link you provided to illustrate your point did not involve a SWAT response.

And, again, not sure what it has to do with the original post.

[Fomerly known as something]

Speaking from experience.

As others said; cops on scene should only give out information to looky loos if it is for the looky-loos safety.  Otherwise, they, the cops, don't say jack to the public until the information is present to the court of law. 

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

What ridiculous things do "they" use SWAT teams for? Seriously. Direct experience please, and not some black helicopter shit you read on the internet.

And, clearly, it's much, much more rational to be afraid of the cops than the criminals in your neighborhood. Totally makes sense.

Like, personally being raided? Thankfully I can't offer that. But look up Cheye Calvo and that baby in Georgia who the SWAT team put in the hospital when they were looking for a dude who wasn't there.

[Blatant]

As I imagined. Carry on then ...

[SimpleCycle]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

[Another Reader]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Personal safety is the reason to know what's going on a couple of doors down.  Your safety and that of your family.

[Debts_of_Despair]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Wow, OP's neighbor is posting in this thread!

But seriously, it's totally my business what is going on next door, especially if it might be affecting my property value.

[FIRE me]

This used to happen with some regularity in the low-income neighborhood I grew up in. Everyone watched during the raid, of course, but asking/trying to find out what happened after was a huge social faux pas. I'm guessing this isn't a normal occurrence in your neighborhood, though.

"Swatting" (calling the police and telling them there are guns/drugs/etc at an address) to mess with people is also a thing--doesn't mean your neighbors did anything illegal at all. They would be victims themselves if that is the case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting

Definitely not a normal occurrence where I live. The block is modest, but honest working class.

I had heard of swatting. I have read on the Internet of several accounts, some ending with no injuries and some not so fortunate.

Still, I would guess that the percentage of swat raids that turn out be malicious false to be very small.

[SimpleCycle]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Wow, OP's neighbor is posting in this thread!

But seriously, it's totally my business what is going on next door, especially if it might be affecting my property value.

But do you really need to know details beyond "suspicion of something illegal"?  Does it matter if the warrant was served for child porn vs. drugs vs. securities fraud?  OP wasn't interested enough before to even know who lives in the house, and now he wants all the details.

As I said, he likely can access the information if he knew even a tiny bit about the situation and was willing to do some legwork.  But even if he has the right to know, they don't have to make it easy.

[FIRE me]

You have to be careful about property records and the names of people who live in the house.

A few examples:

Our county online property tax records show the name of the people who lived there last year.  So if I buy a house in February my name doesn't show up in the online property tax record as the owner for 10 more months.  (Ask me how I know.)

County property tax records show the owner's name, not the resident's name.   The owner may have a different mailing address, which is a pretty good give-away that the owner and resident aren't the same.

County Registrar of deeds will show information that might be more up-to-date, but there's no guarantee.   Depends on the state and the real estate contract and how quickly they get the data into the computer.

Not a problem were I live. One tax site shows the property address, the owner name, and then the mailing address (along with the assessed value). If the addresses don't match, it is, as your say, a rental. Unfortunately, that site updates only once a year, every January.

Another site shows the owner name and updates quicker. About two months after a transfer.

Yet another site, well obscure, allows you to look up the actual deed. It updates about a month after the property transfers. So no doubt about who owns what.

[FIRE me]

The house across the street was "swatted" at least 5 years ago.

A box containing drugs addressed to our neighbor got sniffed out at the PO, and the police chief "delivered" it to the homeowner late in the day, asking if he would accept a package. Next thing you know, a van emptied out and there were police and guns everywhere, and our neighbor was on the ground in handcuffs.

My mom, sister, nephew and I were doing yard work in the back, so we heard the commotion and naturally gawked. The police chief brought the neighbor's two elementary school kids across the street for us to look after while they searched the house (their Mom wasn't home yet). They removed some computers, I believe, and one Barney Fife managed to accidentally discharge his gun into the floor of their bonus room down into the garage (rolls eyes).

The wife came over the next day with a gift card for taking care of their kids and to tell us her version of the snafu.  Story is (and I believe it), that drugs were mailed to their house, with the intent that said box would be snatched from the porch before the owner of the house got home.  Our neighbor was released and nothing untoward has happened since.

Just a misunderstanding. Nothing a lawsuit won't fix.

[wberkgal]

It looks like Louisville has a council based on districts and this means that you should have a "local" councilmember. You might try contacting him or her and letting the person know you are worried about an uptick in crime and then ask about the specific incident. Sometimes they can get information. They usually want to show that they care about crime.

[Giro]

You don't know the name(s) of the person(people) who actually live(s) there, you saw the person the next day so you know she didn't get arrested, but you want details?

uhhh....was anyone arrested? 

If they went to that much trouble, no information is available from a few basic internet searches, and no arrests were made, it probably was a mistake. 

[trollwithamustache]

While it is certainly interesting, did you read the link? That was not a SWAT response. It was a patrol response. Completely different situation than the one originally posted.

Um, yeah, I read it. 

SWATting is a real thing.  As the 'bad guy' calling it in, you don't really get to choose the exact team that descends on a house.  It depends on how the police determine the threat. 

I'd say the biggest difference is that Krebs walked out of the house and surprised the police before they had a chance to make an entrance.

At least around here, (uber liberal coastal California city) the swat teams seem to get used a lot around  protest/demonstration stuff.  They seem to have regular cops around the lines of the demonstration and then a couple blocks off sometimes you'll see the big F-U Bradley (or whatever) vehicle and a bunch of cops with assault rifles chillaxing.

I sorta get the sense the city or police department needs something to do with them so they park the SWAT team out there.  I'm not surprised to hear about them being used on warrant raids in other cities.

[GuitarStv]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Personal safety is the reason to know what's going on a couple of doors down.  Your safety and that of your family.

I don't really buy this argument.

If you're concerned about the personal safety of yourself and your family, just assume that the person raided was a terrorist meth dealing neo-nazi murderer pedophile and act accordingly.  That way their privacy is respected and your security is as good as it would have been if the cops told you exactly what was going on.

There's no need at all from a safety perspective for you to know what was going on.

[Another Reader]

As a landlord, I have a responsibility to the neighborhood to keep individuals engaging in serious illegal activities out.  If I have tenants involved in activities that require a SWAT team invasion, we would evict on a 3-day notice.  My property manager recently evicted a guy that beat up his girlfriend severely at another client's property.  She went to court and he appeared on camera from the jail.  It does not take a conviction for there to be an imminent threat to life and/or property.

If I lived in that neighborhood and made the assumption you suggest, I would move the next day and list the property for sale.  I would rather operate with accurate information. 

[J Boogie]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Personal safety is the reason to know what's going on a couple of doors down.  Your safety and that of your family.

I don't really buy this argument.

If you're concerned about the personal safety of yourself and your family, just assume that the person raided was a terrorist meth dealing neo-nazi murderer pedophile and act accordingly.  That way their privacy is respected and your security is as good as it would have been if the cops told you exactly what was going on.

There's no need at all from a safety perspective for you to know what was going on.

I don't think you're using logic here.   If he assumes the worst, then he should logically barricade the shit of out his house and hire 24/7 security to guard his family.  Clearly he shouldn't do that, because he doesn't know for sure, and it's a considerable amount of resources and energy to spend on an assumption.

I'm not a fan of nosy people.  Looking to understand why neighbors got SWATted doesn't make you a nosy person.

[J Boogie]

As I imagined. Carry on then ...

Before you start your victory laps here, what's the difference between him experiencing something firsthand vs sharing a verified story of it happening? 

You created arbitrary criteria.  He failed to meet your arbitrary criteria, and instead provided a better example (one that can be proven).  That doesn't invalidate his point that SWAT raids might be executed for less-than-serious reasons and that they can harm innocent people. 

I'm not convinced that one should be more afraid of SWAT teams than drug dealers, and I agree that black helicopter BS on the internet is rampant,  but he is at least using sound debate techniques (making a claim, providing evidence).

[GuitarStv]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Personal safety is the reason to know what's going on a couple of doors down.  Your safety and that of your family.

I don't really buy this argument.

If you're concerned about the personal safety of yourself and your family, just assume that the person raided was a terrorist meth dealing neo-nazi murderer pedophile and act accordingly.  That way their privacy is respected and your security is as good as it would have been if the cops told you exactly what was going on.

There's no need at all from a safety perspective for you to know what was going on.

I don't think you're using logic here.   If he assumes the worst, then he should logically barricade the shit of out his house and hire 24/7 security to guard his family.  Clearly he shouldn't do that, because he doesn't know for sure, and it's a considerable amount of resources and energy to spend on an assumption.

I'm not a fan of nosy people.  Looking to understand why neighbors got SWATted doesn't make you a nosy person.

Maybe there's something wrong with me . . . but assuming the worst, logically I'd:
- Make sure to lock my doors
- Talk with the neighbours I'm close with and work together to keep a little extra watch going on
- Be a little more careful than usual with regards to my kids

Assuming that the SWAT team actually has the right guy, they've probably either caught him or scared him away.  It would be phenomenally stupid of him to do anything untoward knowing that the police are on him.

[By the River]

Now that body cameras are getting common, I suspect body camera footage is also publicly requestable.  I know I was able to purchase a dash cam video of an acquaintance's DUI arrest for $1.

Was the video purchase for legal reasons or because Netflix didn't have anything interesting? 

[MoonLiteNite]

he refused to say what it was about.

Power hungry.
Most of the time a warrant is public record, unless there is the chance someone is endangered, it should be public.
You can look it up online as to why the  it happened.

Most likely someone said they smelted some weed int he house.

[Heywood57]

Most likely someone said they smelted some weed int he house.

smelted some weed ???

smelt
verb   past tense: smelted; past participle: smelted
  extract a metal from its ore by a process involving heating and melting.

[Spork]

Now that body cameras are getting common, I suspect body camera footage is also publicly requestable.  I know I was able to purchase a dash cam video of an acquaintance's DUI arrest for $1.

Was the video purchase for legal reasons or because Netflix didn't have anything interesting?

Between those 2, the latter.  Specifically, trying to evaluate truthfulness of a story told by someone I love.

[J Boogie]

There's no reason you need to know other than nosiness.  If you have the right to know, you can find the relevant public record, but you need a lot of information to locate it.  Agencies and police departments don't make it easy for a random busybody to pull info on his neighbors.

Personal safety is the reason to know what's going on a couple of doors down.  Your safety and that of your family.

I don't really buy this argument.

If you're concerned about the personal safety of yourself and your family, just assume that the person raided was a terrorist meth dealing neo-nazi murderer pedophile and act accordingly.  That way their privacy is respected and your security is as good as it would have been if the cops told you exactly what was going on.

There's no need at all from a safety perspective for you to know what was going on.

I don't think you're using logic here.   If he assumes the worst, then he should logically barricade the shit of out his house and hire 24/7 security to guard his family.  Clearly he shouldn't do that, because he doesn't know for sure, and it's a considerable amount of resources and energy to spend on an assumption.

I'm not a fan of nosy people.  Looking to understand why neighbors got SWATted doesn't make you a nosy person.

Maybe there's something wrong with me . . . but assuming the worst, logically I'd:
- Make sure to lock my doors
- Talk with the neighbours I'm close with and work together to keep a little extra watch going on
- Be a little more careful than usual with regards to my kids

Assuming that the SWAT team actually has the right guy, they've probably either caught him or scared him away.  It would be phenomenally stupid of him to do anything untoward knowing that the police are on him.

There are two possibilities that I'll float out there that I would recommend a dramatic increase in security over:

- They maybe have the right guy, but he might have covered his tracks quite well and given them nothing to arrest/detain him on.

- Assuming this person is a terrorist as you mentioned, most terrorists will do whatever they planned on doing regardless of the consequences.  They assume they're being tracked; they just need to be able to make their big move before they can be stopped.  Someone who values their destructive mission more than their life is an ever present danger.