Mother suffers horrendous eye injury after being hit in the face by her front door as police battered it down in drugs raid

Hurt: Shanie McDonnell was hit in the face by the door as she tried to open it to task force officers

A mother almost lost an eye when police smashed in her front door during a raid on her Derby home. Shanie McDonnell was hit in the face by the door as she tried to open it to task force officers who were executing a drugs warrant on her house.

Ms McDonnell, 28, was left with a fractured eye socket and was told she will need an operation because of the hit which took place at 8.30am yesterday. Derbyshire police described the incident 'regrettable' but said it was acting on information that the property may have been used for drugs purposes. Ms McDonnell said: 'I was holding my daughter one minute and then heard a tap on the front door. 'I looked through the spy-hole to see police in uniforms the other side and went to unlock the door. 'As I did so, there was this loud bang and the door smashed into my face. The pain was terrible.' She shares her home in Normanton, Derbys, with her partner of five years Martin Dharam.

Mr Dharam, 42, said he was upstairs when he heard his partner screaming. He said: 'I wanted to make sure Shanie and our daughter Shania, who is only 11 months old, were okay. 'This is the third time in the past two or three years the police have raided the house for drugs and they have never found anything. I just don't know why our house is being picked on.' Yesterday Ms McDonnell spent more than eight hours at the Royal Derby Hospital.  She said she did not yet know if her injuries would leave her with permanent scarring.

 

Raid: General view of Shanie McDonnell's street. She was left with a fractured eye socket and was told she will need an operation because of the hit which took place at 8.30am yesterday

Superintendent Gary Parkin, head of operational policing in Derby, said: 'It is regrettable that Miss McDonnell was injured as officers tried to get into the property to execute the warrant. This information was put before a magistrate who granted the warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act. It was carried out by specially trained officers. When executing warrants it is important to enter the property quickly and without warning to the occupants to ensure no potential evidence is lost. It is regrettable that the occupant appears to have been behind the door as our officers tried to gain entry. Investigations into the incident are on-going.'

Source:  Daily Mail UK 

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