WBAL.com

A U.S. District Court jury ruled Monday that a Baltimore County SWAT team is not liable for the death of a Dundalk woman shot during a 2005 drug raid of her family’s row house.

Cheryl Noel, 44, was killed early Jan. 21, 2005, when a police team entered her house.

“They (the jury) believed the officers’ version of events, and believing the officers’ version led them to believe there had been no constitutional violation,” Assistant Baltimore County Attorney Paul Mayhew said.

But Noel’s family is “devastated” by the decision, according to their lawyer, Terrell Roberts III.

“There’s no margin for error here. It really should be examined closely whether a SWAT team ought to be used in cases like this,” the attorney said. “This was more of a military raid than it was a police execution of search warrant.”

Mayhew pointed out that two of the Noels – Charles, 55, and the couple’s son Matthew, 23 had violent criminal histories. The other two, Cheryl, and the other son, Jacob – had registered pistols.

Mayhew said police had gotten a warrant to search the Noel’s home after they found marijuana and cocaine residue in the trash, and served the warrant with everyone’s safety in mind.