SWAT Team Breaks Down Door, Detains Man for Wife’s Defaulted Student Loans

STOCKTON, CA - Kenneth Wright does not have a criminal record and he had no reason to believe a S.W.A.T team would be breaking down his door at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.


“I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers,” Wright said.

Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts as a S.W.A.T team barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.

“He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there,” Wright said.

According to Wright, officers also woke his three young children ages 3, 7, and 11 and put them in a Stockton police patrol car with him. Officers then searched his house.

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UPDATE (3:35 PM): I knew that there is more to this story. . Via Reason (via Gawker) , here’s a statement from DOE spokesperson Justin Hamilton:

Yesterday, the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General executed a search warrant at a Stockton, Calif., residence with the presence of local law enforcement authorities.



While it was reported in local media that the search was related to a defaulted student loan, that is incorrect. This is related to a criminal investigation. The Inspector General’s Office does not execute search warrants for late loan payments.


Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, we can’t comment on the specifics of the case. We can say that the OIG’s office conducts about 30-35 search warrants a year on issues such as bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of federal student aid funds.


All further questions on this issue should be directed to the Department of Education’s Inspector General’s Office.


Therefore, the warrant was executed primarily by federal agents with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), not local S.W.A.T.

Police State Search Warrant on Student Loan "Default"