Once again, American law enforcement agencies exposed their incompetency by raiding the home of an innocent Black woman in Georgia in search of a fugitive accused of murder who had been arrested four months earlier.
But not only had federal agents arrested Joshua Smiley in Indiana on June 20, 2023, they boasted about the capture in a press release which was reported by various local media sites at the time.
But for reasons that have yet to be explained, at least 15 law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals Service and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office raided the home of Cathy George at 5 a.m. on October 24, 2023, terrorizing the woman who had no connection to Smiley.
“I wasn’t shown any ID, I wasn’t shown any warrant, I wasn’t shown a search warrant, an arrest warrant, a badge,” she said in a video interview with the Institute for Justice, the national law firm that filed a lawsuit on her behalf.
“I had no clue who they were.”
The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday against the U.S. Marshals Service, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and the 15 cops who raided her home, accusing them of violating her Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights.
The 15 cops who ransacked her home while dressed in riot gear and terrorizing her at gunpoint threatened her with arrest if she did not inform them of the whereabouts of Smiley, who has no known ties to Georgia.
“‘Where is he? Where are you hiding him? Where is he? You know if you’re lying to us, you’re going to be going to jail,’” the cops told her as they held her at gunpoint, according to her interview.
“I have no idea what they’re talking about, and I finally just say, ‘Who?’ and they say, ‘Joshua Smiley.’”
She then showed the photos of her two sons to prove they were not the man they were looking for but they kept ordering her to “show me another one, show me another angle.”
“Ms. George’s sons share no physical or demographic traits with Smiley other than race and gender,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. George has never met or interacted with Smiley.”
After about 20 minutes, the cops realized they had made a huge blunder.
“At that point, the officer in charge tells me, ‘I think there’s been a mistake,’” she explained in the interview.
“And I say, ‘a mistake? What do you mean?’”
But they did not elaborate, leaving her ransacked home without apologizing, according to the claim which describes the botched raid as an “inexcusable error.”
George’s ordeal is the latest in a long line of botched raids on the homes of innocent people over the years.
Incompetency Exposed
After they left, George searched Smiley’s name and discovered the man who had been listed as one of the 15th most wanted fugitives in the country had been arrested four months earlier in Indiana.
But somehow, word of his arrest never reached the federal agents who targeted her home.
“Before raiding Ms. George’s home, the officers didn’t check to see if Joshua Smiley was still at large,” states the claim.
“And yet, they planned the raid of Ms. George’s home ahead of time, talking to the condominium building and gaining access to locked entrances to Ms. George’s home in an upscale Atlanta suburb.”
“When the officers arrived at Ms. George’s unit, they banged on her door and shouted at her as if she were a dangerous criminal,” the claim continues.
Meanwhile, the dangerous criminal they were seeking was already behind bars, one week after he was placed on the most wanted list.
According to the claim:
On or about June 20, 2023, about a week after Smiley was put on the 15 Most Wanted list, Smiley was peacefully apprehended at about 1:30 p.m. at a residence in Avon, an Indianapolis suburb.
The next day, the United States Marshals Service issued a press release about Smiley’s capture. The Service also posted about Smiley’s capture on Instagram.
As the press release and social-media post explained, investigators with the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force had developed information leading them to Smiley’s location at a residence in Avon.
Private news outlets also reported on Smiley’s capture in the few days immediately following his apprehension.
“I commend the Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers who worked tirelessly to get a dangerous fugitive off the street,” Ronald L. Davis, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, was quoted in local media in Indiana.
“We truly appreciate those who take it upon themselves to provide information that helps us make our communities safer.”
‘I’m Triggered by Sounds’
Smiley remains in custody, while George, who remains traumatized by the botched raid, said she moved from the apartment where she had lived for three years because of the horrible memories from that night.
“After the incident, I don’t feel like I’ll ever be the same,” she said. “Concentrating has been very difficult. I’m triggered by sounds, banging sounds on the door.”
“I still wake up at 4:45 every morning since the incident, but I’m definitely not the same person. I’m very fearful that they’ll find me wherever.”
Listed in the lawsuit as defendants are Ja’Rad Hunt, the U.S. Marshal in charge of the raid along with 14 John Doe cops.
“Had John Does run basic checks (even a simple Google search) about Smiley’s whereabouts, they would have found records— such as the U.S. Marshals Service’s press release, public court records, and news stories— indicating that Joshua Smiley had been arrested in June 2023 and remained in law enforcement custody,” the claim states.
“As a result of the raid, Ms. George has experienced severe emotional distress; she has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, for which she takes multiple medications, and she has incurred medical bills.”
George, who tears up when reciting the story, says hopes nobody else has to go through the terrifying experience of being jolted awake in the early morning hours by armed agents of the state accusing her of harboring an alleged murderer.
“When law enforcement makes a mistake of this magnitude, I think they should take accountability. I think that they should own it,” she said.
“I think that they should apologize.”
Watch her video interview below.
