Billings police released a video Thursday detailing a Sept. 17 police search of a former Billings restaurant owner's home, following criticisms of how the 90-year-old woman, who was not charged, was treated.
The video was released on the Billings Police Department Facebook page and is 11 minutes and 27 seconds long. It is produced using body-cam footage from some officers as they show up at the King Avenue East home at night and speak with the former owner of Mamacita's, Eva Sigsworth.
The video gives a sympathetic portrayal of the officers as they explain why they have a warrant to Sigsworth, then help her son, Arthur Alvarado, gather his medication before leaving the home. The video also shows several photos of guns seized from the home and other pictures of cluttered areas.
Click here to watch the video.
Agents obtained the warrant to search for drugs, drug paraphernalia, and stolen property. They seized 48 guns and other accessories from the home and arrested Sigsworth's grandson, John Paul Schmieding, on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
In response, friends of Sigsworth started a GoFundMe account aimed at helping pay "to repair damages to her home." The account has over $13,000 so far.
On Monday at the Billings City Council meeting, Police Chief Rich St. John defended the raid.
“The agencies involved, based on our review, acted within policy and procedure,” St. John said at the meeting. “And if there was any property that was disturbed or disrupted, it was incidental and lawful. And I would say if there's going to be outrage about this entire incident, it should be with the grandson for bringing a criminal activity, criminal enterprise into the grandmother's residence."
MTN News has requested all body-cam footage from Billings police from the raid.
