A Minneapolis woman is calling for a group of police officers to be fired for illegally entering her home in the middle of the night and intimidating her family to resolve a complaint about a loose dog.
According to MPR News, 34-year-old Ebony Dobbins said her rottweiler, Rocky, ran away from her home, which she shares with her partner and three children, just before 1 a.m. on March 25.
Police say that when they responded to a complaint that same night about a dog roaming in the area, they visited Dobbins’ home and stood outside her home for more than an hour, ringing the doorbell, knocking, and trying to call Dobbins’ phone.
When no one answered, Dobbins said that one officer climbed through her son’s bedroom window and walked through the home to the front door to let the other responding officers inside.
“They went downstairs. They woke up my girlfriend. And then they had her come upstairs. Then they all came in my room,” Dobbins said. “They woke me up and forced all of us into my living room.”
In a news conference, Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, stated that before the officers entered Dobbins’ home, they were seen on home surveillance video acting strangely. Dobbins released doorbell camera footage showing officers ringing her bell and then immediately running away in what Gross described as “playing ding-dong-ditch.”
Surveillance footage from inside the home also showed an officer walking through Dobbins’ living room to let his partners inside. Bodycam footage also shows the moments officers woke Dobbins and her partner and questioned them inside her home.
“This conduct is unlawful and, as a result, this family is traumatized,” Gross said. “Officers are knocking on the doors, they’re running away after they knock as if this family might be dangerous. The most anyone in this family has is a parking ticket.”
But in a police report, an officer wrote that he ran to his squad car after ringing Dobbins’ doorbell because he was wary about the loose dog.
“The dog occasionally would disappear into the back of the address, allowing me to knock loudly on the door and ring the doorbell until retreating to my squad car, anticipating the dog’s return. There was no answer at the door upon multiple attempts,” one of the responding officers wrote.
The report states that responding officers were concerned because they saw children inside the home who appeared unresponsive and believed an emergency was underway since most of the lights were on, Dobbins’ car was in the driveway, and no one responded to the loud knocking.
Dobbins also alleged that the officers entered her home with their weapons drawn, but surveillance and bodycam video only show officers with flashlights. No firearms are seen.
Police also denied Dobbins’ claims in a statement to WCCO Radio in Minneapolis about the incident:
Officers responded to a report of an uncontrolled, aggressive dog at a residence. While waiting for Animal Control, officers spent more than an hour trying to make contact with the occupants. They knocked on doors and windows while avoiding the loose dog, called cell phones they could hear ringing inside, and used bright lights to get attention.
During this time, officers observed children inside the home who appeared unresponsive. Concerned for their safety, officers entered the home through an open window to avoid causing damage from a forced entry.
There have been claims that officers entered the home with weapons drawn—those claims are false. Officers entered calmly, announced their presence, and focused on ensuring the safety of everyone inside.
Chief O’Hara has reviewed the body-worn camera footage and supports the officers’ actions.
Any complaints related to this incident are independently investigated through the external complaints process.
Dobbins retrieved her dog from Minneapolis Animal Control later that day. No dog attacks or injuries were reported.
Dobbins and CUAPB want the four officers who responded to the complaint and one Animal Control officer to be fired.
“They stated they were never able to check on my kids because I was too hostile,” Dobbins told WCCO. “One of the officers even boasted about breaking into my son’s window, letting me know on his way out, ‘Hey, make sure you close your son’s back window and lock it because that’s the way we came in.'”
