Minneapolis Police Accused of Mistaking Baby Doll for Real Baby in Bizarre Lawsuit

The Minneapolis Police Department is facing yet another lawsuit, but this time the allegations are beyond bizarre. Yolanda Mays and her uncle, Tommy Holmes, claim that on the evening of March 21, 2023, officers from the MPD and Brooklyn Center Police burst into their home without permission or a search warrant. The reason for their presence? To investigate a fatal shooting, but they ended up mistaking a baby doll for a real infant in distress.

According to the lawsuit, the officers began shuffling through the mailbox and peering through the window while waiting for a response from inside the home. When they spotted a baby doll on the couch, they allegedly concluded that it was a real baby in need of saving and kicked in the front door.

However, it turns out the officers were at the wrong house altogether. The search warrant affidavit listed a different address on the same street, with similar digits but in a different order. The lawsuit accuses the officers of using the observation of the baby doll as a pretext to gain entry and conduct an illegal search, causing damage to the home in the process.

This incident is just the latest legal trouble for the MPD, following the conviction of former officer Kim Potter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright. The lawsuit against the officers involved in this bizarre case seeks monetary damages for their alleged “evil intent” and “reckless indifference” towards the civil rights of Mays and Holmes. It remains to be seen if any disciplinary action will be taken against the officers involved.