Local

Kissimmee police bust into, raid wrong apartment

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Kissimmee resident King Baker said he was startled from his sleep Thursday afternoon by the sounds of SWAT members bursting through his door and the sight of a gun to his head. It turns out the officers were in the wrong apartment.
           
"All I see is guns pointed at me, officers coming through the door.  I hear, 'boom, boom, boom,'   two to three times," said Baker.
 
Kissimmee police and SWAT members raided his unit at Tiffany Square Apartments along West Columbia Avenue.
 
"It scared me. I was asleep.  You know, it really scares me, bothers me," said Baker.
 
"When I told them my name and they was like, 'Oh (expletive), we have the wrong house,'" said Baker.
 
Kissimmee officials told Channel 9's Ryan Hughes that they messed up.
 
"Unfortunately a huge mistake was made and our SWAT team went into the adjacent apartment," said Stacie Miller, with the Kissimmee Police Department.
 
Officers told Baker misinformation from an informant caused the mishap.
   
"At this point we will open an internal investigation and our (Internal Affairs) department will handle all of that and it will be reviewed by the chief and deputy chief," said Miller.
 
Police broke some windows and a door jamb during the raid. They quickly made repairs to Baker's residence.
 
Baker said he's concerned about his image in the neighborhood.
 
"They make a mistake. They come into my place. Now I'm looked at as a bad person in my community," said Baker.
 
The Kissimmee Police Department paid for a hotel room for Baker and his family overnight. He told Hughes he was afraid to stay in the apartment.