Limestone County couple’s home left ‘unlivable’ by SWAT Team

LIMESTONE Co., Ala. (WAFF) - A Limestone County couple is living in their car after a SWAT team tear-gassed their home during a reported barricade situation on Tuesday.

Brenda Brown, the homeowner, said authorities were looking for her son, Toney Brown. She says her son was not home when the SWAT team arrived. She said she offered to take authorities through her home, but police still used force to search through it.

The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that it was working with the United States Marshals on Tuesday to capture Toney Brown, who was wanted for domestic violence and stalking. Deputies said Toney Brown previously made threats toward family members and law enforcement, prompting the sheriff’s office to bring in the U.S. Marshals.

According to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, its investigators and the U.S. Marshals working with them got a tip that Toney Brown was at his parents’ home and went to the residence to look for him. According to deputies, U.S. Marshals requested help from the Madison County SWAT Team and the Limestone County Special Response Team.

“Me and my husband both told them we will go in there with you and take you through it,” Brenda Brown said. “We didn’t care because he wasn’t here. If he had been here he would have turned himself in. He would have never wanted us to go through this.”

Still, Brenda Brown said the authorities on the scene deployed tear gas, broke windows and damaged her home.

Wednesday morning, the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said that Toney Brown had escaped from the residence before law enforcement entered.

Brenda Brown said the lingering effects of the gas used by law enforcement have made her home unlivable.

“You can’t sleep in there it smells so bad,” Brenda Brown said. “I don’t know why they had to do this. They [law enforcement] said it was for their safety.”

The sheriff’s office said early Thursday morning that Toney Brown was arrested and booked into the Limestone County Jail.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement in regard to its role in the operation on Tuesday:

“The Madison County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team traveled to an area in Limestone County earlier this week at the request of the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office. We were strictly there to assist their agency and the United States Marshals Service with the apprehension of a barricaded subject wanted on felony warrants. The Sheriff’s Office’s primary concerns are citizen safety, officer safety, and scene safety.”

WAFF reached out to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office and was able to speak with Sheriff Josh McLaughlin about the incident.

WAFF has reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service for comment and have not heard back.

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