MI cops give kids toys after SWAT team terrifies family in drug raid on wrong house

Police gave stuffed animals to two children after a SWAT team raided their home last week looking for a previous tenant, but their parents are still waiting for officers to replace the door.

Jeremy Handley said police conducted a drug raid Thursday at their Kalamazoo, Michigan, home but found nothing, reported WWMT-TV.

He said officers were looking for a man who rented the home nearly a year before his family moved in, and Handley said he’s upset that police failed to thoroughly investigate before bursting through the back door.

"I thought it was somebody either trying to rob us, or hurt us," Handley said.

Handley and his wife, Becky, were handcuffed and searched while their two children hid in a bedroom closet.

"We were staying quiet, because we thought they were bad guys coming in," said 7-year-old Brenden Handley.

Jeremy Handley said officers ransacked the home, looking for cocaine, cash, and weapons in “every drawer, every cabinet, every piece of paper."

Police told the family they were looking for “a man named Chum,” he said.

"I would never recognize him if I were to see him in the street," Jeremy Handley said.

Police ended their search empty-handed after nearly three hours and left behind documents indicating they had found nothing related to illegal drugs, and Becky Handley said they apologized to her.

Officers gave the couple’s children some toys, but the children said they’ve had nightmares since the raid.

"One dream was about Chum coming in our house with a gun, saying, ‘Get on the ground,’" said 8-year-old Aurora Handley.

Jeremy Handley said he doesn’t want his children to fear police, and he hopes they’ll offer counseling for them – along with a new door.

Police declined to comment on the raid, saying it’s part of an ongoing investigation.

The police chief said he would contact the family about the incident.

Watch this video report posted online by WWMT-TV: