Imagine the excitement of moving into a home. Then imagine the fear of having guns drawn while trying to move into that home. Such is the case of one Georgia man, who is now seeking damages from Georgia police for what he believes is a miscarriage of justice.
On May 2, 2014, Dhoruba Bin-Wahab parked his SUV in the back of his new home. The formerly abandoned home had been renovated prior to Bin-Wahab’s rental. Bin-Wahab saw the police, with guns drawn, approaching his new home but did not believe that he was the target of their pursuit. Video taken by a neighbor showed him seated on his front porch, being pushed against a wall and being forced to the ground with one hand behind his arm.
According to the police, the call was a routine investigation of an alleged peeping tom. Police report that Bin-Wahab was not cooperative while being questioned. At the time of questioning, the police believed that someone else was in the home. However, one officer conceded that he mistook an officer in the home for an assailant.
Bin-Wahad is alleging that he suffered head and neck injuries during the event and is seeking damages from the police department. Though he was not arrested or charged with burglary, the damage to his reputation is difficult to rehabilitate. Bin-Wahad did not want to move into the home after the incident because he feared that his neighbors would believe that he was a criminal. Incidents such as this one highlight the importance of taking the right course of action when trying to regain one’s reputation after a public miscarriage of justice.
Source: www.ajc.com, “Man says Clayton police roughed him up for entering his own home,” Marcus Garner, May 19, 2014
