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Computer Glitch to Blame for Years of Raids on Elderly Couple's Home

by Amar Toor on March 22, 2010 at 08:30 AM

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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Tags: elderly, elderly people, ElderlyPeople, glitch, glitches, new york, NewYork, nypd, raids, top

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