By David K. Li -
NBC News
A group of Texas officers investigating a murder broke into the wrong house during a raid, resulting in the suspension of the Galveston police chief.
Texan city official Brian Maxwell ordered Police Chief Doug Balli on Friday to take a 10-day administrative leave for an alleged "miscommunication in the January 22 operation," according to a statement released Monday. .
Doug Balli. Galveston.
gov
Officer Andre Mitchell was named as acting chief in his place.
A SWAT special forces team raided a home that day looking for a 17-year-old accused of killing 25-year-old Malik Dunn on Jan. 20, authorities said.
But the teenager they were looking for doesn't live in that house, and was also later exonerated of any involvement in the murder, according to local authorities.
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"During the search, officers determined that the suspect was not at the residence," the statement said, "later, after conducting the search, the police department received new information that contradicted the initial assumption of the arrest."
Erika Rios, who lives in the home that was raided, told Houston affiliate KPRC that she and her children were asleep when police arrived.
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"At about 2 a.m. we were woken up by pellets coming through our doors and yelling from the Galveston Police Department, 'Come out with your hands up!'" Rios said.
His daughter, Chelsea Peralez, was shocked, Ríos explained.
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"I was scared, screaming," Peralez told KPRC, "I went to where my brother was and asked him what was going on while they kept shooting buckshot."
Ríos could not be reached for comment Monday.
Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the family, said they will discuss the raid at a news conference on Wednesday.
Galveston's mayor and city officials said they only learned of the raid from news reports on Friday.
"There is no justice."
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As a result, an "internal investigation was opened to determine what communication failures delayed the notification [of the incident] to the city administration," the statement said.
Although the union that represents Galveston police officers acknowledged that its relationship with Balli "was sometimes adversarial," it expressed its support for the officer.
"[I would never] intentionally allow an officer, specialized unit or even a citizen to harm someone or break the law," according to a union statement.
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"If by any chance there was an issue of miscommunication, it will be discovered and addressed in the investigation," the statement added: "Balli would also not allow facts or actions to be hidden. He is an upstanding citizen and a leader who cares about the population ".
