- Elizabeth Rehn is suing the city and five police officers after her home was searched by officers who arrived at the wrong address
- The November 2020 incident was captured on shocking bodycam footage
- Rehn is seen shaking and frightened after armed officers entered her home with guns raised before realizing their mistake
A woman is suing Seattle after police officers broke down her door and searched her home only to discover they were at the wrong address.
Three years ago, on November 22, 2020, Elizabeth Rehn had the horrific experience of armed officers forcing their way into her home as she was about to go to the bathroom.
Rehn is now suing the city of Seattle and five Seattle police officers for unspecified damages, arguing that her civil rights were violated and the police were negligent.
Bodycam footage of the incident shows a male officer aggressively kicking in Rehn’s front door before another enters the apartment, points a gun and shouts, “Seattle police, show me your hands!”
Elizabeth Rehn’s home was searched by Seattle police officers on November 22, 2020, just as she was about to go to the bathroom
Bodycam footage shows Rehn (right) shaking and frightened after the armed officers entered her home
“What the hell,” a frightened deer can be heard replying.
“Who else is inside?” the officer shouts, to which the frightened resident says: “No one, I live alone.”
According to court documents, police responded to reports that a person in crisis was throwing items out of a fourth-story window.
The bodycam footage shows police checking the windows in the apartment and noting that none were broken.
Rehn claims that the police not only entered the wrong apartment, but were also in the wrong building.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court last month, says police were dispatched to 3028 1st Avenue but entered 3016 instead.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as scared and shaken as Ms. Rehn, and I’ve been a civil rights attorney for 28 years,” Rehn’s attorney, Jay Krulewitch, told Komo News.
The footage shows officers shouting “Seattle police, show me your hands.”
Officers are seen inside the property where they realize their mistake
Rehn’s lawyer Jay Krulewitch (pictured) said his client feared for her life
“She was afraid of being shot because when her door was broken down, she didn’t know who came into her apartment, she squatted down, she was about to take a bath, she barely had time to throw a big coat over herself , “Krulewitch explained.
“I think the crying and sobbing and what she expressed to me reflected how close she was to death.”
“This was not a small incident, it was a frightening incident for her that left a lasting impression on her,” he added.
“You have the wrong fucking address, are you kidding me?” she can be heard telling the officers in her desperate state.
“I didn’t know who the hell was at my door,” she added.
Seattle police said they would not comment on pending litigation.