An Australian teenager has recounted the terrifying moment she was woken at gunpoint by a police officer who was raiding her home.
Stephanie* was just thirteen when the raid occurred in March and remembers the incident, which has left her wary of police, in horrific detail.
Stephanie’s stepfather Dave* is a member of the Rebels bikie gang, and the raid was a failed attempt to find two of his fellow members and an associate.
‘I've only ever seen it on television,' Stephanie told Daily Mail Australia about the event.
‘When numbers of grown police men are yelling at you to stay down, don't move, hands up and freeze on a constant replay.'
When police burst through her bedroom door at 5am she was confused and frightened.
‘I lay there dumbstruck fearing my life,' she said.
'A loud voice yelled at me to put my hands up and show them my face.
‘My hands were shaking in the fear of a strange man in my room yelling at me.'
Stephanie said she didn’t realise the men were police at first as she had been frightened awake, and all she could focus on were guns, loud noises and bright lights.
She was taken in to the kitchen where she saw her mother and stepfather on the floor, surrounded by the police, and their assault rifles.
‘One of the men put me next to my mother and she hugged me tightly, hiding my face from what was going on around me.’
She recalls her mother Carol* kneeling in the kitchen in handcuffs, guarded by armed police, and Dave cuffed on the floor while surrounded by four officers with guns.
Her mother, remembers squeezing her little girl tight, trying to shield her from the violent scene.
‘She was a blubbering mess, she had no clue what was going on,’ her mum said.
‘(Dave) yelled out to her when she was brought to us he said “I haven’t done anything wrong Boo” and she believes him, she knew he was involved in the club but she never expected anything like this to happen.'
The men the police were looking for had stayed at the premises from time to time and were family friends linked to the club.
But the girl's mum says they had not been to the home in the days before the raid, and they haven’t been invited back since.
‘As far as I am concerned we had done nothing wrong and as soon as they saw a kid in the house they should have held up a little.
‘I understand they were just doing their job and if it was just Dave and I in the house I wouldn’t have cared, but it wasn’t.’
Her mum says there is no doubt that the terrifying awakening has had an effect on the girl.
‘She lives with her dad, but used to come around whenever she wanted mum time, or credit, or just a sleepover, normal teenage girl stuff,’ she said.
‘But now she won’t stay the night unless she has friends stay with her.
‘We still see her, she will come and have dinner and hangout but then she will go back to her dad’s to sleep.’
The raid only lasted for a few minutes before calming down according to Carol, but to Stephanie it felt much longer.
‘After hours of screaming and fighting and these men breaking doors and smashing items and pointing guns we were all sat down in the family lounge room an asked questions.
‘My stepdad is not a criminal, nor is my mother we are all innocent, we had done nothing wrong.
‘But the intelligence police (SERT) ripped through our house.
Stephanie's mother runs a business which aims to help young people gain employment, and police refer troubled youth to her so she can help get them on the right track.
‘I work with local level police, and have no problem with them. My main concern is getting (Stephanie) through this getting her trust built again.’
Stephanie has the support of her mother and father as well as her step parents and is looking forward to putting that night, and her fear of police behind her.
When Dave owned guns police would make mandatory checks to ensure they were being kept correctly, her mother says they have always knocked in these instances and they have never had any problems with the authorities before.
An officer familiar with the raid told the Guardian Australia that he could not comment on the teenager's version of events, but said Sert officers operate with their rifles visible.
The family have been offered $3,245 in damages following the raid.
*Names have been changed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3365009/Girl-13-terrified-woken-police-pointing-assault-rifle-face-raiding-stepfather-s-home-looking-Rebels-bikie-gang-members.html#ixzz3uihkEdty
Stephanie* was just thirteen when the raid occurred in March and remembers the incident, which has left her wary of police, in horrific detail.
Stephanie’s stepfather Dave* is a member of the Rebels bikie gang, and the raid was a failed attempt to find two of his fellow members and an associate.
‘I've only ever seen it on television,' Stephanie told Daily Mail Australia about the event.
‘When numbers of grown police men are yelling at you to stay down, don't move, hands up and freeze on a constant replay.'
When police burst through her bedroom door at 5am she was confused and frightened.
‘I lay there dumbstruck fearing my life,' she said.
'A loud voice yelled at me to put my hands up and show them my face.
‘My hands were shaking in the fear of a strange man in my room yelling at me.'
Stephanie said she didn’t realise the men were police at first as she had been frightened awake, and all she could focus on were guns, loud noises and bright lights.
She was taken in to the kitchen where she saw her mother and stepfather on the floor, surrounded by the police, and their assault rifles.
‘One of the men put me next to my mother and she hugged me tightly, hiding my face from what was going on around me.’
She recalls her mother Carol* kneeling in the kitchen in handcuffs, guarded by armed police, and Dave cuffed on the floor while surrounded by four officers with guns.
Her mother, remembers squeezing her little girl tight, trying to shield her from the violent scene.
‘She was a blubbering mess, she had no clue what was going on,’ her mum said.
‘(Dave) yelled out to her when she was brought to us he said “I haven’t done anything wrong Boo” and she believes him, she knew he was involved in the club but she never expected anything like this to happen.'
The men the police were looking for had stayed at the premises from time to time and were family friends linked to the club.
But the girl's mum says they had not been to the home in the days before the raid, and they haven’t been invited back since.
‘As far as I am concerned we had done nothing wrong and as soon as they saw a kid in the house they should have held up a little.
‘I understand they were just doing their job and if it was just Dave and I in the house I wouldn’t have cared, but it wasn’t.’
Her mum says there is no doubt that the terrifying awakening has had an effect on the girl.
‘She lives with her dad, but used to come around whenever she wanted mum time, or credit, or just a sleepover, normal teenage girl stuff,’ she said.
‘But now she won’t stay the night unless she has friends stay with her.
‘We still see her, she will come and have dinner and hangout but then she will go back to her dad’s to sleep.’
The raid only lasted for a few minutes before calming down according to Carol, but to Stephanie it felt much longer.
‘After hours of screaming and fighting and these men breaking doors and smashing items and pointing guns we were all sat down in the family lounge room an asked questions.
‘My stepdad is not a criminal, nor is my mother we are all innocent, we had done nothing wrong.
‘But the intelligence police (SERT) ripped through our house.
Stephanie's mother runs a business which aims to help young people gain employment, and police refer troubled youth to her so she can help get them on the right track.
‘I work with local level police, and have no problem with them. My main concern is getting (Stephanie) through this getting her trust built again.’
Stephanie has the support of her mother and father as well as her step parents and is looking forward to putting that night, and her fear of police behind her.
When Dave owned guns police would make mandatory checks to ensure they were being kept correctly, her mother says they have always knocked in these instances and they have never had any problems with the authorities before.
An officer familiar with the raid told the Guardian Australia that he could not comment on the teenager's version of events, but said Sert officers operate with their rifles visible.
The family have been offered $3,245 in damages following the raid.
*Names have been changed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3365009/Girl-13-terrified-woken-police-pointing-assault-rifle-face-raiding-stepfather-s-home-looking-Rebels-bikie-gang-members.html#ixzz3uihkEdty