Pubdate: Sat, 30 Mar 2013
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Copyright: 2013 World Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/463
Author: Heather Hollingsworth, Associated Press
Page: A12

EX-CIA EMPLOYEES SUE OVER DRUG RAID OF THEIR HOME

They Say Their Family Was Growing Vegetables in the
Basement.

LEAWOOD, Kan. - Two former CIA employees whose Kansas home was
fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim
they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor
growing supplies to raise vegetables.

Adlynn and Robert Harte sued this week to get more information about
why sheriff's deputies searched their home in the upscale Kansas City
suburb of Leawood last April 20 as part of Operation Constant Gardener
- - a sweep conducted by agencies in Kansas and Missouri that netted
marijuana plants, processed marijuana, guns, growing paraphernalia and
cash from several other locations.

April 20 long has been used by marijuana enthusiasts to celebrate the
illegal drug and more recently by law enforcement for raids and
crackdowns. But the Hartes' attorney, Cheryl Pilate, said she suspects
the couple's 1,825-square-foot split level was targeted because they
had bought hydroponic equipment to grow a small number of tomatoes and
squash plants in their basement.

"With little or no other evidence of any illegal activity, law
enforcement officers make the assumption that shoppers at the store
are potential marijuana growers, even though the stores are most
commonly frequented by backyard gardeners who grow organically or
start seedlings indoors," the couple's lawsuit says.

The Hartes filed the suit this week under the Kansas Open Records Act
after Johnson County and Leawood denied their initial records
requests, with Leawood saying it had no relevant records. The couple
says the public has an interest in knowing whether the sheriff's
department's participation in the raids was "based on a wellfounded
belief of marijuana use and cultivation at the targeted addresses, or
whether the raids primarily served a

Adlynn Harte publicity purpose."

"If this can happen to us and we are educated and have reasonable
resources, how does somebody who maybe hasn't led a perfect life
supposed to be free in this country?" Adlynn Harte said in an
interview Friday.

The suit filed in Johnson County District Court said the couple and
their two children - a 7-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son - were
"shocked and frightened" when deputies armed with assault rifles and
wearing bulletproof vests pounded on the door of their home around
7:30 a.m. last April 20.

"It was just like on the cops TV shows," Robert Harte told The
Associated Press. "It was like 'Zero Dark Thirty' ready to storm the
compound."

During the sweep, the court filing said, the Hartes were told they had
been under surveillance for months, but the couple "know of no basis
for conducting such surveillance nor do they believe such surveillance
would have produced any facts supporting the issuance of a search warrant."

Harte said he built the hydroponic garden with his son a couple of
years ago.

He said they didn't use the powerful light bulbs that are sometimes
used to grow marijuana and that the family's electricity usage didn't
change dramatically. Changes in utility usage can sometimes lead
authorities to such operations.

When law enforcement arrived, the family had just six plants - three
tomato plants, one melon vine and two butternut squash plants -
growing in the basement, Harte said.

The suit also said deputies "made rude comments" and implied their son
was using marijuana. A drug-sniffing dog was brought in to help, but
deputies ultimately left after providing a receipt stating, "No items
taken."

Pilate said no one in the Harte family uses illegal drugs and no
charges were filed.

The lawsuit noted Adlynn Harte, who works for a financial planning
firm, and Robert Harte, who cares for the couple's children, each were
required to pass rigorous background checks for their previous jobs
working for the CIA in Washington, D.C. Pilate said she couldn't
provide any other details about their CIA employment.

Pilate said any details gleaned from the open records suit could be
used in a future federal civil rights lawsuit.

"You can't go into people's homes and conduct searches without
probable cause," Pilate said.

Leawood City Administrator Scott Lambers said Friday that he couldn't
comment on pending litigation. The sheriff's office also had no comment.

"Obviously with an ongoing lawsuit we are not able to talk about any
details of it until it's been played out in court," said Johnson
County Deputy Tom Erickson.
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