Did police go too far in Brooklyn drug raid?

(Red Hook - WABC, May 10, 2006) (WABC) -- Residents are complaining that police went too far in a major crackdown on guns and drugs in a Brooklyn housing development.

Police say it was a virtual drug bazaar that netted $12 millions dollars a year and 152 people arrested.

But some people living in the Red Hook houses development on Columbia Street say aggressive officers went too far, and some innocent people ended up in jail.

In more than a dozen cases, charges were dropped against tenants here. But they tell us they still spent up to three days in jail. And they say they have no idea why.

Stacey Sager: "They never read you your rights but they did handcuff you?"

"Handcuffed us, took our fingerprints," one resident said.

And that resident, a 57-year-old grandmother, tells us she was never even charged. It was all part of a major drug sweep here in Brooklyn -- a massive crackdown police call "Operation Off The Hook."

But more than a dozen here call it unconstitutional and some of them say police ransacked their apartments, finding no drugs and held them for up to 72 hours in jail.

Today, the police commissioner called the drug bust outstanding, saying it yielded 11 guns, bullet proof vests, $30,000 dollars cash and a half a pound of cocaine. Police insisted they received numerous complaints about the drug dealers plaguing this housing complex.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly: "In fact, they had turned the housing development into a drug zone, attracting drug addicts from across Brooklyn and beyond."

Police arrested more than 150 people here. But in 18 cases, charges were dismissed.

"I was in jail for three or four days," a resident said.

Stacey Sager: "Were you charged?"

"Never charged," the resident added.

Some of the residents are now planning to sue the NYPD because they feel police had no proper cause. Police, however, insist that most of the feedback is positive.

"It's not unusual for people who have warrants executed in their homes to complain ... but I think it went really well," the police commissioner said.

And police also tell us that last year there were eight drug related shootings and two fatal stabbings in the complex, so they had to use something.

As for how long a person is usually held until they are formally charged, the guidline is usually 24 hours. Clearly, some of these folks were held three times as long as that.

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