Marijuana Policy Project

Police assert officers followed proper procedure

Two weeks after two dogs were shot and killed during a police raid on a Westminster house, neighbors are still crying foul over the way police acted, and police are sticking to their guns, saying they did what they had to do.

The incident at the home near 108th Avenue and Moore Street, which lies just outside of Broomfield's borders near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, happened on Aug. 12. The Westminster SWAT team entered the house to serve a warrant for cultivation and distribution of marijuana. Police said the dogs, a pit bull and a Jack Russell terrier-beagle mix, charged at officers before they were shot.

Neighbors and friends of the home's residents, however, say the dogs were not vicious or aggressive, and are accusing police of using excessive force. They are considering their options for holding police accountable for what they, in several Internet postings, have called a tragedy and travesty.

The police department, meanwhile, said officers were following policy when the dogs were killed.

Grover Greer, a friend of James Coe and Jeron Siegert, who live in the house that was raided, said his friends were not involved in drugs and the raid could have led to more harm.

"Basically these guys got a tip that was a bad tip and came in with guns blazing and almost shot a friend of mine," Greer said.

Police said more than 50 marijuana plants were confiscated from the home.

Siegert said lawyers have told him not to discuss the case. He was the only person home at the time and was arrested at the scene.

Coe could not be reached.

Jefferson County prosecutors have yet to file a case against Siegert, but investigator Trevor Materasso, a public information officer with Westminster police, said the department has been informed they will.

The SWAT team was following established procedure for serving a narcotics warrant, Materasso said. The team was conducting a "knock and announce" procedure, which calls for police to declare their presence at a house's door before entering. Occupants are given time to open the door before the team enters, he said

He did not go into further detail about the incident because it is an ongoing investigation.

Other neighbors have complained that children were in the area. Materasso said police monitored the area immediately prior to the raid to make sure it was safe to proceed.

Siegert's friends and neighbors remain livid about the killing of the dogs.

Siegert's pit bull "never showed any aggressive behavior anywhere. He was pretty much a teddy bear," Greer said. He believes the pit bull was shot because of the stigma attached to the breed.

The breed was irrelevant to officers' decisions, Materasso said. He said SWAT teams often encounter dogs when making raids and it has been several years since one was killed.

Greer said friends want to file a complaint with the department but are waiting for Coe or Siegert's blessing. Materasso said only the dogs' owners have the standing to make a complaint. Comments from neighbors about what happened after police entered the home would be considered hearsay, he said.

Materasso said he does not know of the department receiving any informal complaints. He said it is aware of the attention the case has received on the Internet.