“[The officers] observed the artwork in our home and they said, ‘You have a crucifix on your wall. You’re Roman Catholic. They’re all perverts,’” Christian Campbell said.
A Florida family has filed a lawsuit against the Orlando Police Department, claiming that officers falsely arrested them on suspicion of creating and sharing child pornography.
According to WFTV-9, the family’s lawsuit was filed earlier this month. It names several individual officers as defendants, as well as the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Attorneys for the two plaintiffs, Christian and Laurie Ann Campbell, say that their clients are seeking a jury trial and an estimated $10 million in damages.
“The haunting, the PTSD, and the nightmare we live every day—you don’t forget it,” Laurie Ann Campbell told WKMG-6. “You live with that fear.”
The Campbells say that the incident occurred on August 6, 2020.
Orlando Police Department officers, who have received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip included information pertaining to a “Fetlife” account, as well as multiple conversations with an individual Kik account. In these conversations, the suspect or suspects allegedly discussed having sexual intercourse with children.
Attorneys for the family say that, in deciding to raid the Campbells home, the Orlando Police Department failed to do its due diligence: its officers purportedly skipped several steps in their investigation, and never verified whether the Campbell home’s IP address corresponded with the IP address associated with the Fetlife and Kik accounts.
Laurie Ann Campbell, the lawsuit says, was out of the house when officers arrived.
Christian, though, was at home when officers entered with rifles raised.
“From that first night, and every single day since, we have relived this,” he said.
Christian, writes WKMG-6, was dragged out of his house by the SWAT team. He was handcuffed, and forced to sit on the front lawn as officers prepared to search the home.
Laurie Ann was, in the meantime, pulled over and arrested.
“I was like, ‘God, please. Why is this happening to me? Why are they doing this?’” Laurie Ann said. “Then I was like, “Where is my family?’”
Both Christian and Laurie Ann Campbell said that officers appeared to presume that they were guilty before proceedings were even initiated. During the search, for instance, some law enforcement personnel made disparaging remarks about Roman Catholics.
“They observed the artwork in our home and they said, ‘You have a crucifix on your wall. You’re Roman Catholic. They’re all perverts,’” Christian said.
The lawsuit emphasizes that the state Department of Children and Families took the Campbell’s 18-month-old child away from them during the investigation. They did not regain custody of their child for another half-year.
“My daughter wasn’t home for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even her birthday,” Laurie Ann Campbell said. “What’s wrong with these people.”
The lawsuit claims that the suspect police had intended to arrest was eventually located in another state.
Sources
Couple files lawsuit against Orlando Police Department for SWAT raid
‘You live with fear:’ Orlando couple files lawsuit after SWAT raids wrong house in child sex case
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