protect and serve;

Michigan State Police (MSP) and a local SWAT team in April executed a raid on a home in Flint, Michigan, battering down the door and holding the family at gunpoint while they went through their things.

A confidential informant gave the cops the address—for the wrong house.

This month, attorneys for Renee Dunigan, 56, Michelle Colston, 28, and Colston's three minor children requested a federal civil rights investigation into the raid that saw scores of officers forcibly enter their home apparently without the proper vetting.

The cops "smashed in their front door without any notice while effectuating a 'no-knock' warrant," reads a letter from William H. Goodman, Julie H. Hurwitz, and Teresa Bingman, the family's lawyers, addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela Karlan. "They rousted the family at gunpoint, literally from shower, sleep, and bed, and forced them to sit together for one hour—in Michelle's case unclothed, having just stepped out of the shower—while approximately 50 officers tore the house apart." The offices of Goodman Hurwitz & James P.C. did not respond to request for comment.

Police set the raid in motion after speaking with their source, who told them that a car parked in the Dunigan-Colston driveway belonged to the family. That same driveway was shared with a neighbor, though law enforcement didn't verify who actually owned the vehicle before seeking the warrant and executing the raid.

"It appears the police did no pre-raid investigation regarding the Dunigan/Colston home prior to smashing in their front door and never even bothered to confirm the name and registration for the car in question," notes the letter. "The family has also learned that the [informant] provided this information to protect the neighboring house.".........read more..........