A House Raid, and a Question: What Should We Know?

Editorial: The following is an opinion article

Representative Benning filed a Freedom of Information request on the 13th requesting Search Warrant documents after his household and his property was searched by officers of the Los Santos Police Department. Why and what were they searching for? Well… we don’t know. 

What we know so far is that on the 12th of October, William Benning house and property were raided. The police were allegedly searching for a specific, unknown item in the Representatives belongings and failed to find it. They searched his house, and then they searched the Representative’s person and his vehicles. 

We asked Representative Benning about what he knew about the search:

We also asked if he knew what they were searching for:

We asked representatives from the Los Santos Police Department multiple times regarding the incident and so far we have received the ‘we are unable to comment’ reply. 

So should the police have informed Representative Benning of why they were searching his property? The answer is complex; we asked a lawyer for comment on the situation however they didn’t want to comment about ongoing proceedings.

One thing that a State Representative shouldn’t have to do is request a copy of a warrant involving them on a public request process when that information should be provided for them by the police. Everyone should have the right to know why they are being searched and what is being searched.

A copy of the signed warrant was given to Weazel News from an anonymous source, the warrant establishes the areas and scope of search but fails to list what police were looking for. According to Justia, an online legal resource, “the [search] warrant must state specifically the place to be searched and the items to be seized.” In this case, the document provided fails to state the items to be seized in the search. We are seeking further explanation on why the items were not included in the warrant provided.

Representative Benning made one thing clear: that he isn’t against police action and the police being proactive, he just wants answers as a private citizen of San Andreas to why his house and property were searched.

Stay with Weazel News for your trusted news regarding this issue.