St. Petersburg SWAT action ignites fire

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 13, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- A SWAT team accidentally started a fire Tuesday night in a house that police were raiding in a search for drugs.

No one was hurt, but flames and smoke caused significant damage to the two-story house at 1341 19th St. S, southwest of Campbell Park.

The fire started about 9:30 p.m. when SWAT officers set off a "flash bang" distraction device inside the house, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Rick Stelljes.

The device, which causes a loud noise and a bright flash of light, is intended to disorient criminal suspects and give officers an advantage.

The device also emits a brief burst of heat, and officials say it set fire to acoustical tiles in a makeshift recording studio in the house.

Neighbors said the first floor of the house doubled as a studio for reggae and rap artists.

A crowd of about 50 neighborhood residents gathered in the streets around the cordoned-off scene, complaining that police had set a fire with a tear gas grenade.

"They just shot a grenade in the house," said a man who gave his name as Don Johnson and said he worked in the recording studio. "Rastas hang out there. The police may have had a problem with that." Rastafarians are members of a Jamaican religious sect known to use marijuana.

Police say the SWAT team and narcotics officers were executing a search warrant, looking for suspects in a drug investigation.

"Upon entering the house, they found suspects scrambling, attempting to flee," Stelljes said.

Police say they used no tear gas. Officers threw the "flash bang" device into a dark room to protect themselves because they weren't sure whether anyone was inside, Stelljes said. He said it was unusual for the device to start a fire. Fire officials said the blaze spread quickly.

Police arrested two people in the raid.

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