Kansas SWAT Raid Over Tea Leaves and Tomato Garden Outrages Federal Judges

‘A 10th Circuit panel had harsh words for officers that botched a drug raid on an innocent Kansas family that netted tea leaves and the family’s tomato garden instead of marijuana.
On April 20, 2012, seven heavily armed Johnson County sheriff’s officers conducted an early morning raid on the house of Adlynn and Robert Harte based on vegetative samples found in the couple’s trash. It turns out those samples were tea leaves, and officers found a hydroponic tomato garden instead of marijuana.
The Hartes sued the county for $7 million on unlawful search-and-seizure claims, which a federal judge tossed after finding the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.
On Tuesday, however, a three-judge 10th Circuit panel disagreed – and Circuit Judge Carlos Lucero offered a sarcastic summary in the ruling of the mistakes made by the officers.’
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