Around 4 a.m. sometime in October 2017, Trina Martin, her 7-year-old son Gabe, and her then-boyfriend Toi Cliatt were at home when they were disturbed by the sound of a flashbang grenade going off.
Martin told 11Alive, “We were sound asleep and all of a sudden… I’m awakened by a monstrous loud noise. Felt like someone was breaking in our house.”
Bodycam footage from the Atlanta Police Department showed officers standing outside their home. For the family, it felt like an invasion.
Martin recounted, “They threw in a flash bomb grenade, just a lot of light and a lot of noise at the time. What I can remember is… I was heading toward the door to get my son because his room was across from ours and Toi pulled me into the closet, which was located in the master bathroom. At that time, we were reaching for our firearms.”
According to Martin, she was really frightened and confused. She described how the agents got Cliatt out of the closet when the door popped open. One of the agents put a gun to her face as she fell in the corner.
She added, “There was a lot of bright light, I could just see camouflage.”
Martin admitted that she had questions as to why someone was breaking into their home while dressed in SWAT outfits.
“We weren’t doing anything, we were just regular people,” Martin said. “So, for someone to raid our house like that it was really disbelief.”
Then she heard her son sobbing for her. All she could do, though, was plead for her son. The agent told her to “shut up, worry about myself, be quiet, be still. And I’m just like crying like, ‘Please, can I get my son?'”
As this was going on, Martin said she could hear the agents questioning Cliatt in the adjacent room.
“I was really confused at that time, ‘What are they talking about?'” Martin said. “And at some point, they realized they had the wrong address.”
After the ordeal, Cliatt said he went outside with the officers.
He explained, “I was trying to get some sort of explanation from them because they just did what they did to us and just left without saying anything to us. I’m watching them talking and they let everyone know that they had the wrong address and they’re meeting back up to go to the correct address, which was right down the street.”
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According to a statement from the Institute for Justice, the federal government has refused to compensate the family for their ordeal. Next Tuesday, the family’s case will go to the Supreme Court.
Martin told the Atlanta Voice earlier this year that she hopes the judge will rule in her favor.
According to her, she hopes “to be awarded whatever the Supreme Court or justice system feels as though the highest award should be. We’re seeking restitution because it’s not just in 2017, the moment it happened; this is ongoing.”
She added, “My son was seven years old at that time, and you never know when there’s going to be a trigger point. He has his whole life ahead of him, and I want an outcome that will give him some type of peace, feeling heard, and feel like justice was made. I’m looking for the Supreme Court to make the right decision in our favor and we’re going to be grateful regardless.
She expressed her gratitude that her case would be heard. She believes it’s a significant turning point for her and other people who “may have been affected by a related situation. I see this as an opportunity for justice and positive change, and I remain hopeful for a favorable outcome.”
