Conroe, TX 70-year-old grandmother, and teacher Judy Cox was recently assaulted by police after they wrongfully invaded her home, and at the end of the encounter, she was the one taken to jail for assault.
I have never experienced anything so terrible and all the days of my life, Judy Cox said.
According to Cox, the police came to her door without a warrant, demanding to search her home because the GPS signal from a stolen Ipad had directed the officers to her home.
At least four or five cops came there and they told me that they were there looking for an iPad and the trace came back to my address, family member Ysonji Lundy said.
They destroyed my home and left without any explanation, she added.
At first, the family denied the police entry to their home and said that they would have to get a warrant if they wanted to search the house.
I told them, no, to get a search warrant and I shut the door, Lundy said.
Moments later, more police returned and said that they had spoken with the district attorney who ruled that they had probable cause to search the home since the GPS signal was traced there. The owner of the stolen Ipad, who was from another town, was standing there with police and was a total stranger to the family.
Reluctantly, the family allowed the police in the home and they searched it thoroughly, tearing the entire house apart and throwing their property everywhere.
Things took a turn for the worse when the police attempted to rummage through 70-year-old Coxs purse, which was obviously far too small to fit an Ipad.
I asked what are you doing? Everything that was in my purse I earned, Cox said.
Next the officer became physical with her.
He slammed me against the wall so hard that my hair fell off, my wig, she said.
In the scuffle to keep her purse from the officer, she inadvertently scratched the officers face.
Then they tell me oh you assaulted a police officer. I said Im sorry I was reaching for my purse. They arrested me and handcuffed me in front of my grandchildren and my children and took me to jail, she said.
She was then taken to jail for assaulting a police officer after her home was invaded and after she was assaulted by armed men much larger than she is.
I was humiliated. But being placed under arrest and put in jail by people who werent supposed to be there in the first place. And they want to make me out to be some monster. Im not a violent person. Ive been an educator for over 40 years. I even told the police officers I was just going for my purse, she said.
After searching the home, the police found nothing.
Cox and her family have contacted local activists to learn how they can fight back, and they plan on filing a complaint with internal affairs.
Police oftent hurt or kill innocent people during raids on the wrong house. Just yesterday we reported on the story of a young man who was shot and killed by police as he fixed his truck in his driveway because US Marshalls got the address wrong.