(CN) - The 7th Circuit denied immunity to a police officer facing claims that he lied to get a no-knock search warrant for a home with a dozen guns, and then shot an inhabitant.
Fifteen Milwaukee SWAT officers stormed the home of Richard and Sharon Betker on the evening of Aug. 4, 2006, acting on a tip from Sharon's estranged sister indicating that Sharon was a felon in possession of a firearm.
Thinking his home was being invaded, Richard Betker brandished one of his own firearms through the doorway and was immediately shot in the hand and shoulder.
Officers then secured the couple and recovered a dozen guns in the home. Though Richard was arrested for reckless endangerment, he was never charged with a crime and authorities eventually returned the confiscated weapons.
Sharon Betker's sister, Debbie Capol, reported the couple to Officer Rodrigo Gomez days earlier, telling him that Sharon was a convicted felon, and that her brother-in-law own numerous firearms. Capol says today that she also emphasized that she had not personally seen the guns because she had not been in the Betker home for five years.
Officer Gomez conducted a preliminary investigation by confirming the Betkers' ownership of the home, doing a brief drive-by and doing a criminal background check on Sharon Betker. He confirmed that Sharon had been convicted of credit card fraud in 1982 - a felony at the time - but never spoke to the Betkers directly.
Gomez also did not corroborate the sister's accusations, though he did speak to her again. She allegedly reiterated her story, adding that Richard Betker had been arrested for killing a coyote and that the couple had a home "full of guns."
Gomez confirmed that Betker had killed a coyote - a ticket in Milwaukee - but also confirmed that the man had obtained a valid hunting license four of the previous five years.
In his affidavit for a no-knock warrant, Gomez testified that he "knows through personal involvement in this investigation and through reports and documents ... that a convicted felon named Sharon Marie Betker (Capol), white female ... is reported to be in possession of at least 1 handgun, a dark colored semi-automatic handgun, at her residence. ... A known citizen witness, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that within the last 5 days, the informant has observed Betker in possession or control of at least one handgun, at the above-described address. In addition, the informant stated that Betker and her husband Richard Betker (w/m ... ) possess numerous hunting rifles and that they both engage in illegal hunting and the informant has seen stuffed animals like eagles, which are a protected species, in the residence." (Parentheses and ellipses in original.)
Gomez's affidavit also stated that he "checked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and confirmed that Richard Betker at the above address obtained a Resident Gun Deer License in 2001 and a Small Game License in 2003, thus corroborating the information related to firearms at the residence."
"The witness gave a detailed description of the address that affiant later corroborated in person," the affidavit continued. "In addition, affiant went to the location and observed a female matching the informant's description of Betker at the residence. (The informant describes Betker as a white female 5'6"-5'7", 250lbs)."