No-Knock Gun Search Leads to Complaint, Lawsuit

(Howard County, Maryland) A police tactical team with a warrant can ruin your day.

After a Howard County police raid on his house three weeks ago, Mike Hasenei says he has a sprained wrist, a dead dog, a bullet hole in his bed and a 12-year-old daughter who is scared every time she hears a knock on the door.

Hasenei, 39, of the 6600 block of Deep Run Parkway, Elkridge, said he was sleeping shortly after 9 p.m. Jan. 15 when a police tactical team kicked in the door to his house. He woke up and walked into his living room to find it swarming with officers, he said. When he asked what was going on, he was ordered to get on the ground, and when he asked again, he said, he was knocked to the ground and told he was under arrest.

Police then searched his house, looking for items stolen from two marked police cars that were reported broken into on Jan. 14 in the Elkridge community of Mayfield, according to Hasenei, who said he works as a computer analyst at Marriott International.

During the raid, Hasenei said, police shot his Australian cattle dog, in his bedroom.

Earlier that night, police also raided the nearby house of his stepson, Michael Leon Smith Jr., and turned up nothing, Hasenei said.

Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn confirmed the raid on Hasenei's house, noting that police had a search warrant signed by a judge. Llewellyn would not confirm whether the raid was related to the items stolen from police vehicles on Jan. 14, citing an ongoing investigation. No one was arrested in the raid, she said, and no arrests have been made relating to the thefts from the police cars, which she said police are still investigating.

Llewellyn confirmed the dog shooting, but said the dog charged police, forcing them to shoot it.

Spokeswoman Llewellyn indicated that the police were most interested in finding a stolen Sig Sauer rifle with three ammunition magazines plus a gear bag and police manual. She said the Howard County Police Department had received the Hasenei's complaint. Hasenei said he has contacted a lawyer and plans to file a lawsuit.

Tip: Inside Charm City

Companion post at GunWatch.