MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida family is asking why their apartment was raided by police. They say they have done nothing wrong, and police found nothing. Now they’re left with a mess and a lot of questions. Rosh Lowe has the story in tonight’s Lowedown.
Michael Valdes: “All I know is I woke up at 11 in the morning at the sound of banging at my door.”
The damage to that door still visible.
Michael Valdes still shaken up after coming face to face with Miami-Dade Police.
Michael Valdes: “I saw a bunch of agents with hazmat suits and rifles aiming at me.”
Valdes didn’t know what was going on.
He says police searched his house, cut through mattresses, threw down lamp shades and looked in the walls. The search was thorough and messy.
Michael Valdes: “They said I was a heroin dealer and I had a heroin lab, which is why they came in with hazmat suits.”
Rosh Lowe: “Have you ever sold drugs or been arrested?”
Michael Valdes: “Never sold a single drug in my life. No criminal history… I work at Publix.”
Valdes is working to pay the rent at this apartment on Miami Beach. His 60-year-old mom was staying with him when several law enforcement agencies raided the apartment. Valdes was placed in handcuffs.
Michael Valdes: “I thought we had a right to privacy and we have protection against illegal searches and seizures. My name wasn’t even on the warrant. They were looking for somebody else.”
Michael tells us he’s trying his best to better his life and help support his mom. Take a look at this — this is his room now, a complete mess, he says, after police came in.
Michael Valdes: “I want to to know what’s the reason they decided to come her and destroy my apartment and destroy, pretty much, my life.”
And Valdes says it wasn’t only his life. His mom was placed in cuffs as well.
Michael Valdes: “They handcuffed her and dragged her into the back of the cop car and they wouldn’t even release her, the tight handcuffs.”
Cuffs that Valdes says made his mom’s hands swell. He says his mother was cuffed for hours.
Michael Valdes: “That was the worst part in my opinion. When I saw that, that’s probably the part that hurt the most, when they took my mother and treated her like a criminal.”
Police found nothing. There were no drugs. Valdes and his mother were released.
Michael Valdes: “I’m just trying to make it by. That’s all I’m doing. Just saving money to pay all my bills and just be left alone and not be taken in like a criminal.”
We reached out to Miami-Dade Police. They say this was the right apartment, and sometimes it happens that they don’t find the person or the drugs they are looking for.
Michael Valdes: “They were questioning me about a guy I never met in my life.”
Michael says there has to be a better system.
Michael Valdes: “I think this country needs a lot of work in that area. We are hard working people who pay our taxes and I vote. And I don’t do any crime. We deserve to be treated with respect.”
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