A woman who sued police for mistakenly breaking into her home has won nearly $4 million.
On January 4, 2022, retired US Postal Service worker and grandmother Ruby Johnson had just gotten out of the shower when she heard someone shouting at her from outside her house in Montbello, Denver, ordering her to exit her home with her hands in the air.
Only dressed in her bathrobe, the 78-year-old opened the door to find a SWAT team in front of her.
How one woman's day took a terrifying turn
According to the lawsuit filed by Johnson's legal team, she was met by 'a large group of Denver Police Department (DPD) officers in military gear carrying tactical rifles, the armored military personnel carrier parked in front of her house and flanked by many other DPD marked vehicles, and a German shepherd K9 dog'. Understandably, she felt 'very frightened and confused'.
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After using a megaphone to command her outside her home, the lawsuit claims the police demanded access to Johnson's garage and despite the elderly woman telling them how to get in, they used a battering ram to 'destroy the back garage door and door frame'.
The lawsuit also alleges the tiles on Johnson's ceiling were broken by members of the police when they went up to look in her attic, alongside a 'prized collectable doll figurine' having its head broken 'off'.
The documents state the search took 'hours' and Johnson was 'offered no explanation of why her home was stormed or why she needed to be detained' and was instead made to sit in the back of a police vehicle.
How and why did such a big mistake happen?
Well, according to the lawsuit, a truck - which had four semi-automatic handguns, a rifle, a revolver, two drones, $4,000 cash and an iPhone 11 inside - was stolen and the owner of the vehicle managed to track the phone using the 'Find My' app before later sharing the information with police.
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The location showed up as the area around Johnson's home and so Detective Gary Staab allegedly obtained a search warrant for the elderly's woman's house.
However, the search warrant was wrongly obtained, the documents claim.
American Civil Liberties Union's website continues: "The 'Find My' app in fact made clear that the iPhone’s location could not be accurately identified, and there was no basis to identify and search Ms. Johnson’s home.
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"The hastily undertaken and outsized operation was based on a manifestly deficient search warrant and turned up nothing because Ms. Johnson and her home had no involvement whatsoever with the alleged incident."
The repercussions
Johnson sued the supervisor who approved the search warrant, Sergeant Gregory Buschy, alongside Stabb - although, not Denver Police Department.
The lawsuit claims 'neither' officials offered any apology to her for the 'invasion' or 'turmoil'.
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Aside from the alleged physical damages to Johnson's house, Macdonald argues: "For us, the damage was always about the psychological and the emotional harm to Ms. Johnson."
The lawsuit states: "Johnson's privacy, sense of safety and peace in her home have been shattered."
The elderly woman is reported as having since moved out from her home of 40 years as a result of suffering sleepless nights, the 'intense shame and embarrassment' from the search and feeling 'unsafe in her own home'.
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She is now reportedly still suffering from 'multiple, unhealed ulcers' as well as 'anxiety living alone' and 'intrusive thoughts'.
Yesterday (March 4) the verdict was announced by American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, revealing a jury in Denver state court ruled in Johnson's favor and she would receive $3.76 million.
UNILAD has contacted the Denver Police Department to reach Sergeant Gregory Buschy and Detective Gary Staab for comment.
Poppy Bilderbeck