Oklahoma City, OK — In an alarming case of mistaken identity, an Oklahoma City mother and her three children were wrongfully subjected to a heavily armed police raid at their home. A traumatic event that left the family shaken and their rights violated.
On the morning of May 1, 2025, officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department executed a search warrant at the residence of the victim, a single mother of three, Tahira Carter, who has owned her home for nearly 20 years. The warrant was tied to an investigation involving suspects who did not reside at the victim’s home.
Without verifying accurate information about the suspects’ actual residence, police surrounded the victim’s home at dawn and ordered the family outside with weapons drawn. The victim and her children, ages 9, 16, and 19, complied with police commands but were handcuffed and detained for hours while officers aggressively searched their home.
The victim and her children were completely uninvolved in the crime under investigation and had no connection to the suspects who lived a few houses away, where they were later located and arrested.
“This is an outrageous violation of this family’s rights,” said Donald Smolen, civil rights attorney representing the family. “Police conducted this raid based on incorrect and sloppy information and innocent people paid the price. This family was treated like criminals in their own home, their privacy was invaded, and their children were traumatized. This should never happen.”
According to the family, officers detained them in separate vehicles for roughly two hours, during which police interrogated one teenager and searched his phone without cause. The family later returned home to find that officers had ransacked their personal belongings, including the victim’s purse and safe.
Attorney Smolen added:
“There must be accountability for this type of reckless policing. The Constitution protects the right of every family to feel safe in their own home. This family’s rights were trampled that morning, and we intend to pursue full justice on their behalf.”
The incident has sparked public outrage and renewed calls for police reform and accountability in Oklahoma City. The family is preparing to take legal action.
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Cari Carmona
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