A Chico couple has posted video online of what they claim was an illegal intrusion into their home by Butte County Sheriffs Deputies and Chico Police officers. Jordan Cole and his fiance Finesse Reed say that they were watching a movie in their house, behind their business on Park Avenue in Chico, when deputies began pounding on their door, demanding entry. According to Cole, one deputy told him “That’s a 45 pointed at your head, son. You better do what we require.” When Cole, Reed and a friend who was also inside the house refused to open the door, Cole and Reed say that the officers broke a window, unlocked the door, and handcuffed them while they searched the house. The video posted to YouTube of the incident shows Reed frantically talking on the phone while Cole and his friend sit calmly, addressing the deputies and answering questions. The video ends before officers enter the house but Cole said after the deputies, as well as officers from the Chico Police Department, entered his house, they searched through drawers, closets and under beds, and “left the place a mess” before leaving. Butte County Undersheriff Kory Honea told the Chico News and Review that “An internal-affairs sergeant has been assigned to the case to contact those who filed the complaint and gather additional information. If our staff did something inappropriate, we will hold them accountable,” he said. “We want to get to the truth, to the heart of the matter, and that may take a while.”

[Chico News and Review]