Cops stormed a Kalamazoo, Mich., house looking for a man named Chum — a drug dealer who apparently hadn’t lived there for a year.
The home’s current occupants, the Handley family, had no idea who Chum was.
But as a result of the police SWAT tactics — which involved kicking down the back door, ransacking every room and making the occupants feel like endangered victims — the two young Handley children now believe Chum is coming to get them, and have nightmares to that effect. They are also afraid of the police, according to WWMT.
“One dream was about Chum coming in our house with a gun saying ‘Get on the ground,” said 8-year-old Aurora Handley.
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety burst into the home and handcuffed the parents.
“I thought it was someone trying to rob us or hurt us,” said Jeremy Handley, the father, in a statement.
The children hid in the closet while police moved from room to room trashing the premises in search of drugs and cash. They found neither.
“We were staying quiet because we thought they were bad guys coming in,” said 7-year-old Brenden Handley.
After admitting they made a mistake and should have known that Chum no longer lived there, the cops gave the kids some stuffed animals. Aurora and Brenden appreciate the new toys, but they are still mortified.
“It made me sad and scared,” said Aurora.
The Handley parents want police to pay for counseling for their children–and fix the door they broke.
