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Computer Glitch to Blame for Years of Raids on Elderly Couple's Home
Since 2002, the NYPD has conducted over 50 raids on the same house in Brooklyn. Each time, it has made the same mistake, all thanks to one computer glitch.According to the New York Post, the whole snafu began in 2002, when police entered the Brooklyn address of Walter Martin, 83, and his wife Rose, 82, into an alert database. They originally used the address to run a test on the system, but, for some reason, it was never removed, and has since been buried so deeply that police haven't been able to dig it up. After complaining to New York police authorities and even writing a letter to Mayor Bloomberg back in 2007, the Martins were told that the problem had been fixed. Early Tuesday morning, though, Walter and Rose once again woke up to the sound of police banging at their door, and suddenly found themselves in the middle of a raid so aggressive that officers even broke a window in the process.
Upon realizing their mistake, the police quickly apologized, and have assured the Martins that they've now flagged their address, in the event it mysteriously pops up again. While the NYPD says it has discovered how the address got into the system, it's still not sure why it occasionally comes up when they search for certain suspects.
You'd think that police would've noticed a suspicious pattern after the first 49 false alarms. Obviously, it's unfortunate for an elderly couple to have their golden years repeatedly interrupted by groundless NYPD raids, but it also exposes a potentially major flaw in the police department's approach to data management. Falling prey to a red herring computer glitch not only disturbs the lives of individuals, like the Martins, but also diverts manpower and resources away from real crimes, making an already difficult job that much harder. [From: NYPost]
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Comments
40
Subscribe to commentsGrandmaMar 23rd 2010 7:59AM
I'll bet a dollar to a dime that if they filed a law suit for the "terror" caused and the suffering caused to their nerves and the inconvience of the situation all together for say $100 thousand each raid the city would find a way to fix this. I could over look once or twice to a "glitch" but 50 times... give me a break. And the old couple too.
BlancheMar 23rd 2010 9:32AM
That is the first thing that I said. The Martins need to sue. Certainly if a raid caused the death of either of them they would have a MAJOR lawsuit. The raids would stop immediately the minute they filed suit.
al schraderMar 23rd 2010 1:06PM
They don't make mistakes on me. They know me & know I'll turn their vehicles into a smudge, including helicopters...Al-
lhgraphicsMar 23rd 2010 7:58AM
It's probably a windows PC computer. The NYPD should get Macs.
jtfeeMar 23rd 2010 8:57AM
Big macs?
DunkMar 23rd 2010 9:27AM
They should have jailed the old couple the first time, then sold the house at an auction. It's obvious the 83 year old has been peddling drugs and is a serious threat to our children. A good 25 year prison sentence would have nipped this in the bud.
Steve ChandlerMar 23rd 2010 8:09AM
Police are to busy eating dounuts and drinking free coffee to fix the problem
Keith J. MohrhoffMar 23rd 2010 8:19AM
File a lawsuit and you'll see how fast the problem REALLY gets fixed! Nothing say "problem solved" faster than making it more expensive to to nothing than to hire a computer geek to unglitch their system!
millicanbethMar 23rd 2010 8:14AM
Once is an accident, maybe even twice, after that is it nothing more than harrasment, and stupidity. The couple should file a lawsuit for harrasment and damages.
If one of them dies during another one of these "accidental" raides ( these are elderly people and they could have heart issues) every officer envolved in the raid needs to be charged with murder.By every officer I am not only refering to the ones going thru the door, I am also refering to the ones behind the computers that have not corrected this issue already.
If it was my parents or granparents going thru this, you can believe that heads would have rolled already.
JAUNVIVAMEXICOMar 23rd 2010 8:19AM
After the 1st time I would got a lawyer.Cant some body help these people out? 50 times is 50 times to many. I hope that some day we dont read that these old folks got shot in a raid on their house.
jowben1Mar 23rd 2010 8:21AM
What will happen, if this couple have an emergency,now that their address is flagged ??? No response ???
TomMar 23rd 2010 9:08AM
I'm 56 years old and fairly mild mannered, but.......
If these were my parents, someone's ass would have been in a sling a long time ago.
My parents would never have to worry a paying a bill ever again, and several employees of the police department would be out of jobs.
harryMar 23rd 2010 9:19AM
you can almost see it coming....next time the couple will really NEED the police and nobody will show up......so much for the motto "to serve and protect"
You folks that suggested a lawsuit are right ....this is ridiculous
L. WilliamsonMar 23rd 2010 9:22AM
Oh yeah, ITA, a hefty lawsuit would straighten this little problem out fast, quick and in a hurry! This is utterly inexcusable!
KirstenMar 23rd 2010 12:09PM
They could sue the police to the point where the police are afraid to come there anymore, then become drug dealers and deal out of their house and the police won't be able to raid them!
SandyMar 23rd 2010 9:52AM
The New York City police department is not noted for its intelligence.
Keith J. MohrhoffMar 23rd 2010 12:44PM
Now Sandy, let's be fair...the NYPD does a great job overall...considering the enormity of the problems they face etc., but all government agencies are too over-reliant on computers. Here in New Jersey, licenses get suspended and arrest warrants go out for people who've paid their traffic fines, etc. because the computer says they didn't. Child Support has a new computer system (Kid's First) that scans every payroll in the State for the names of "Obligators" and sends that employer a computer-generated court-order for the amount to be paid--without any consideration that the prescribed amount has ALREADY been paid. It took me a month to convince them that there was a problem and another 2 weeks to get them to FIX it. The short of it is, yes, computers are great for keeping large amounts of information organized but, you cannot program "common sense" so, anytime you take humans out of the decision making process, you are going to see problems like this.
Just another dumb white person LOLMar 23rd 2010 9:55AM
Now criminals should hide there knowing the cops are sure not to be back lol
BulldogMar 23rd 2010 10:11AM
What's the big deal...what else do the have to do...the activitly is probably keeping the alive.
pMar 23rd 2010 10:26AM
The city should do something special for the couple.