Consumerist
You'd think between the reactionary CenterPoint Energy subcontractor who smelled vinegar and got worried, the police officer who asked for a search warrant, and the new-to-the-bench judge who signed the warrant, someone would have stopped to say, "Wait, what exactly did you smell? Something vinegary, huh? Yeah, that's not a meth lab." (After all, we were able to find two decent descriptions of what a meth lab smells like in less than a minute.) Instead, a 54-year-old former nurse and her 49-year-old husband were handcuffed and told to sit in their living room and not speak to each other while the warrant was executed.
"Ohmigod," Adams said as she recalled police breaking down her door and flashing the search warrant. "I just kept saying to them, 'you've got the wrong house.' "
Roehl said the drug task force was acting on a tip from a subcontractor for CenterPoint Energy, who had been in the home Friday to install a hot water heater.
"He got hit with a chemical smell that he said made him light headed, feel kind of nauseous," Roehl said.
The smell was vinegar, and maybe pickling lime, which were clearly marked in a bathroom Mr. Adams uses to mix chemicals for his salt water fish tank.
"I said, 'I call it his laboratory for his fish tanks,' " Mrs. Adams said, recalling her conversation with the CenterPoint technician. "I'm looking at the fish tank talking to this guy."
Police say there was no extended investigation, just an interview with the subcontractor.
"Police raid suspected meth house, only find fish tank" [Kare 11] (Thanks to Kristopher!)
(Photo: seanmcgrath)
Comments
No, those things did not happen to me.
simple mistake, sorry bout the door. Have a nice night.
OK, if the guy was installing a hot water heater, wouldn't that normally involve a torch, which even I know is a no-no in the meth lab. I always heard kerosene was used the the process somehow. Not that I know much about Meth production.
Similar things happen quite often actually. This is what when you give police para-military powers & an excuse to suspect anyone (War on Drugs). Welcome to your police state America, you've obviously been wanting it for the past 30 years or so, so here it comes.
If you think I'm just spouting bullshit, here's your sign:
[www.cato.org]
I'd hope CPE will be paying for that door.
CenterPoint pays for the door and refunds water heater install. Case closed in my book. Chalk it up to a dumb contractor.
Maybe they have a legal case against them for slander though?
The guy who called the tip in should be fired. It doesn't matter if he "thought" he was helping to protect the community. He called in a tip, he deals with the consequences like those poor people who were humiliated because of his blatant stupidity.
How do they have the right to cuff people when all they have is a search warrent? That's legal?
Screw ups up and down the line here. Indeed, I'd say CenterPoint Energy did the least wrong, except that they seem the most defensive about declaring they did nothing wrong. Its ultimately the police's responsibility to investigate the validity of the subcontractor's concerns. But CPE needs to stop attacking the innocent victims here while defending themselves. That's bizarre and goes further than the cops who manage to admit no fault without scapegoating the fish enthusiasts.
@Jaysyn: *This is what occurs when you give police...
Oops
Vinegar smell = meth lab? who knew?
Before you know it, Pickling factories everywhere will be shut down for the WAR ON DRUGS!
You know I think I smell something, all the cash from a lawsuit.
@Jaysyn: I second that. It's one thing to want to keep people safe. It's another to persecute the innocent, and those that deal only with substances less deadly than legally-obtainable ones (marijuana vs cigs). Not only that, but to waste billions in the process on costly drug wars in South America while killer substances like Ecstasy barely get noticed, is unbearable. I hate this Administration...
Police State in the USA?
@Gokuhouse:
I believe "tipsters" like that are immune to prosecution or some such. It has to do with them supposedly being on the lookout for terrorists, child porn, drugs...etc...etc... (all the stuff the government wants you to believe are huge epidemics so that you grant the government more authority to spy on American citizens).
Under the guise of 'Homeland Security' the government has asked people typically in people's homes (utility workers and fire department personnel for example) to keep their eyes open for suspicious items and activities.
While law enforcement needs a warrant, this in effect, is warrantless syping in our homes, yet another shredding of the Constitution.
Sorry I could quickly find a better reference, but here's a link to an article about "Home Agents" [www.associatedcontent.com]
The very basics of our Constitution means and are most precious freedoms are being stolen from us, and meanwhile the media debates lapel pins and American Idol fairness.
Has any major media outlet asked the three major candidates, if they are elected, will they take a pledge to not pardon any members of the previous administration? Not that I've heard.
Any discussion of the loss of our Constitutionally protected freedoms? Not that I've heard.
Have you?
The judge who authorized this warrant and the subcontractor should both be brought up on charges and be made to serve some kind of jail sentence.
This isn't an "honest mistake", this is the kind of malfeasance that gets people killed.
I'd like to know how a funny smell qualifies as probable cause to perform a search. Where is the justice? Who is going to be held accountable (hint: nobody).
Was it really nessessary to kick in the door? A simple knock, can we come in? would have worked. Nobody can hide a meth lap/ fish tank that fast..
Hmm...according to the Illinois AG website:
(I had a small accident when I was fertilizing my lawn a couple weeks ago, which left a brown spot) (My other half works nights and puts towels over the windows to keep sunlight out while sleeping)(My other half goes outside to smoke because he knows I don't like the smell)I must be running a meth lab! I'm currently awaiting the police to show up and handcuff me to the chair while they search my house.
Here's a word to the wise kids: don't make any mistakes when fertilizing your yard this spring if you don't want Deputy Dawg showing up! And God forbid you have too many friends come over to visit!
I'm from Missouri where there's a meth lab in every other house, but my philosophy is still to just mind my own business. Some of you activist types may not like it, and I'm alright with that.
Also, when I worked at Best Buy, they specifically warned us against individuals purchasing more than something like 5 packs of batteries, even when they were on sale. Its difficult to try to justify calling the manager when some grandmother is purchasing an electronic which requires an obnoxious amount of batteries anyways, so I ignored it.
Perhaps someone would like to call in a tip on the dishonorable "judge". I seriously think he has been smoking something to authorize the warrant.
Frankly I don't think any tip from a worker like that should have been sufficient grounds to issue a search warrant unless he actually saw a meth lab, drugs, etc in the home. A chemical smell could be anything, and the judge should have denied the request for a warrant. I think the biggest problem is judges not standing up to the cops when they ask for a warrant on flimsy evidence.
@SkokieGuy: You must not have heard, the Constitution is just a "goddamned piece of paper."
I've got to the point where I don't want anyone near my door.
"No Soliciting", and a black tack on the door frame ( door-to-door missionary code for "a psycho lives here" ).
You just about have to go through your house and sanitize it, as well as closing all the interior doors, before inviting anyone in
I blame the victim only because it's an outlet to get mad at my fiancee who insists on cleaning the floors with vineger, feels like I'm living in a god damned salad (sounds like a good nightmare). I say, bring on the real chemicals, clorox, amonia, etc FTW. So what if we have a dog, it's good for his paws.
Of course I'd never have the guts to say this to her, so here I am, trolling.
/troll
I find it funny, this kind of garbage is just the tip of the iceberg that was our rationale for hating the Russians during the 50's and 60's. Now look at what's become of us, we've become the very monsters we once so despised, it almost brought us armageddon.
We want Tuttle
I used to put vinegar in my fish tank too. One day, when I was having my TV calibrated, this snakehead jumped out of the tank, took my weed, kicked me in the nuts and stole my bike... I only wish someone had called the cops...
@Wormfather: SO with you, dude.
@blackmage439:
...Killer substances such as alcohol...
There, I fixed that for you. Ecstacy isn't harmless, but you'll be hard pressed to find a report of someone who died from an MDMA overdose. Overdosing on something you thought was MDMA isn't an MDMA overdose. Water Toxicity isn't an MDMA overdose. Heat Exhaustion isn't an MDMA overdose. In the first instance the "War on Drugs" actually makes the situation worse becuase the illegality of MDMA makes it much more profitable to sell. It was sold legally over the counter until the mid 80's. MDMA is probably one of the safest Schedule I drugs availible at your local highschool & is still prescribed medically.
Please do a little research before you start posting misinformation.
@Corydon: Be a good, red-blooded American and call in the tip yourself. Your country needs you.
@BStu: While I think this was pretty abusive, the fact is that if they WERE meth cooks (and therefore probably meth users), the house is in constant danger of blowing up, and meth addicts are notoriously violent and unpredictable.
@kbarrett: "black tack on the door frame ( door-to-door missionary code for "a psycho lives here" )."
Dude, what?
@Corydon:
"DEAD VEGETATION - Meth makers sometimes dump toxic substances in their yards, leaving burn pits, "dead spots" in the grass or vegetation, or other evidence of chemical dumping."
This is also the sign of an underground natural gas leak, of all things... ;)
Sounds similar. Last spring, out landlords sent out notices that there were going to check each apartment on such-and-such date to check out the pipes and make sure they hadn't been damaged since we had such a crappy winter that year. One of our neighbors was growing tomato starts in his closet under a heat lamp so that the starts would be ready for planting once the frost was gone. But the landlord called the cops and said they were growing pot, so later while the guys are all studying for finals the cops kick the door in without any warning and put all the kids in handcuffs while another cop scoops up all the tomato plants and loads them off. You can sure as hell bet they were embarrassed when they found out their pot raid was all for a bunch of tomato starts.
@dogmaratt: Or the sign of just being an inept greenskeeper :)
Bet that's going to be an awkward conversation between CenterPoint Energy and their soon to be terminated for cause sub-contractor.
And the newbie judge who gave out the search warrant will sure be looking harder at subsequent requests. . .
@Dobernala: i disagree about bringing the subcontractor up on charges, or even firing him. its his right to express concern to the police, no matter how stupid or uninformed he might be. its the police's job to filter the tips, concerns and complaints to figure out what is valid and what is not. the police and the judge should be held accountable. they have the experience, skills and know-how to make an informed decision. a regular citizen doesnt always know, but shouldnt be held responsible for his suspicions when properly conveyed to the authorities.
plus, if people are punished for expressing concerns that turn out to be false, then people will all together stop expressing concerns. that poses a bigger problems than what happened here....
the professionals who reacted to the tip are the ones to blame, not the man who gave the tip.
Anyone who is thinking "lawsuit", you are what is wrong with this country. The contracter(as a person, not the company he works for), the police and the judge all messed up. They deserve a verbal lashing from the accused, but they don't deserve a lawsuit for "embarassment", or to be fired.
"CenterPoint energy maintains the home was "unsafe" and it would have been "irresponsible" for the subcontractor not to report it."
I like how they are keeping with the "we thought it was bad, so you can't harm us" party line...
This is scary - you would think the police would do some more investigating before kicking down doors.
I would be on the phone with a lawyer ASAP.
@Manok:
Policeman: "I... uh... fixed your door. It was sticking."
@PrestonBerryworth: Really? I think the people who want to search private homes on flimsy evidence are what is wrong with this country.
Sad part is there will be no punishment for this because police will claim everything was done 'by the book'. Also, as someone else mentioned, aren't police supposed to identify themselves and give an opportunity to let them open the door before knocking down the door? Also you would think/hope that cops would have done at least some sort of investigation before asking for a warrant and knocking a door down.
It's all well and good that the gov't is asking our plumbers and cable installers to spy on us (not really, but that's another fight).
However, when a tip comes in from someone who is completely and utterly untrained, it should not be taken as probable freaking cause unless or until there's an investigation.
This is the police state the American people have asked for (as other commenters have pointed out). Hope those of you who voted for it (maybe the couple in the article) are happy with it.
@snazz: I think it would be better for people to not "express concerns" they are not sure of, yes. There is no pressing need here for the cops to search a home over a vinegar-type smell. I would rather people keep their mouths shut and mind their own business unless they are absolutely positive they see drugs or whatever. It's okay with me if a few more drug-producers slip through the cracks, if it prevents more innocent people from having no-knock warrants served on them.
@RookOmega: CenterPoint is correct. if one of their employees had concerns about the safety of somewhere he had been, it would be irresponsible to ignore it.
Let this be a lesson to you aspiring meth lab constructors. Keep a fish tank near the hidden entrance to the lab and blame the smell on the fish.
That's pretty bad.
A friend of mine had her kids taken away by CPS because a service technician reported her for ke