Church Sues Michigan Town Over Warrantless Police 'Raids'

From http://www.covenantnews.com/freedom/archives/040365.html

Church Sues Michigan Town Over Warrantless Police 'Raids

'"It was a teen church service, supervised by adults ... and the police came in without a warrant and searched and seized these individuals, and took their names and ... IDs, and told them they were going to be issued a summons." --Brian Rooney, attorney from Thomas More Law CenterFaith Baptist Church of Waterford, alleging a violation of worshipers' rights, has filed a federal lawsuit against Waterford Township and some of its officials. Brian Rooney, an attorney and spokesman for the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, is representing the church).


"What the suit essentially alleges is that the prosecutor and the people under him, in the police department in Waterford Township, violated the rights of Pastor Jim Combs and some of the members of the praise and worship band," Rooney said. He said the prosecutor and police department violated both the federal and state bills of rights. "(Waterford) has violated (Faith Baptist Church's) ability to exercise religion the way they want to, their freedom of association with people they want to associate with, and their freedom of speech," he said. Rooney added that three different "raids, for lack of a better term," were carried out by the Waterford Police Department at the church. "The first one occurred on a Wednesday night, against four teens," he said. "It was a teen church service, supervised by adults ... and the police came in without a warrant and searched and seized these individuals, and took their names and ... IDs, and told them they were going to be issued a summons." Read more...