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Family raided by SWAT because cops found discarded tea leaves in trash

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This happened 3 ½ years ago. You may remember it. The great news is that the 10th Circuit affirmed that the police did not have qualified immunity in this case and can be held accountable. Court ruling has a very good explanation of how to lose qualified immunity.

Law-abiding tea drinkers and gardeners beware: One visit to a garden store and some loose tea leaves in your trash may subject you to an early-morning, SWAT-style raid, complete with battering ram, bulletproof vests, and assault rifles. Perhaps the officers will intentionally conduct the terrifying raid while your children are home, and keep the entire family under armed guard for two and a half hours while concerned residents of your quiet, family-oriented neighborhood wonder what nefarious crime you have committed. This is neither hyperbole nor metaphor—it is precisely what happened to the Harte family in the case before us on appeal. Read more here. And here’s a link to the original police action.