On Jan. 24, Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a federal lawsuit against the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Capital Area Narcotics Task force on behalf of Hazy Hills resident Sandy Smith and three of her tenants. On May 8, 2001, members of the Task Force — clad in SWAT gear and accompanied by a low-flying DPS helicopter — swarmed Smith’s sleepy Spicewood neighborhood to say they were investigating Smith for growing marijuana on her 2.5-acre property (see “No Weed, Just Dopes,” May 25, 2001).
Problem one: Smith’s “marijuana” turned out to be ragweed, about as common in the Texas Hill Country as dirt or fire ants. Problem two: The task force officers didn’t have a warrant. Adding insult to injury, Smith said, the officers held her and her tenants at gunpoint while they ransacked the three homes on her property.
Smith’s subsequent appeals for an explanation, extended to both Pct. 3 County Commissioner Todd Baxter and Sheriff Margo Frasier, have gone unanswered. “They never said it was a mistake or that they were sorry,” Smith said. “It was sort of like a ‘so what?'” On the upside, Task Force officers “haven’t raided me again,” she said, “and I guess that’s a good thing.” Nonetheless, she is distressed that the “suspected of trafficking narcotics” charge is still lodged on her record.
Enter Harrington, who says the raid constitutes an “excessive use of force” and a clear violation of Smith and her tenants’ Fourth Amendment right to freedom from unlawful search. Both claims are the basis for the federal suit, slated to be heard by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. Harrington hopes the lawsuit will shed some light on the inner workings of the task force, which has thus far escaped public accountability, he said.
Previous attempts by the Chronicle to establish why the raid was authorized — not to mention who, exactly, participated in it — were unfruitful. But in the past year, the task force has been fraught with problems. Last February, Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Ruiz was shot and killed during a raid in Del Valle. In December, a deputy shot and killed 19-year-old Antonio Martinez during yet another raid in Del Valle. Martinez was not the target of the raid and was asleep on a couch when it took place. Harrington said the task force has been too unaccountable for too long. “Hopefully, the best thing that would come out of this, is that we would get rid of [the Capital Area Narcotics Task Force] altogether.” The TCSO has 60 days to answer Harrington’s suit, with discovery proceedings to follow.
This article appears in February 1 • 2002.