FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – One person is in custody after Fort Lauderdale police and federal agents responded to a home in the city Friday morning, authorities confirmed.
According to Fort Lauderdale police and the FBI, their SWAT team, officers and agents were assisting the Department of Health and Human Services in an investigation.
FBI spokesman Jim Marshall confirmed that the incident involved a man barricading himself inside a home in the 1000 block of Southwest 21st Street.
Sky 10 was above the scene around 8:30 a.m. as SWAT team members were outside the home.
“Walk towards me, hands up -- keep your hands up, sir,” an agent at the scene was heard telling the suspect. “Walk slowly backwards, slowly backwards, hands above your head.”
Marshall confirmed that the suspect was taken into custody.
According to an HHS spokeswoman, HHS Office of Inspector General agents served an arrest warrant at the home “as part of a routine law enforcement procedure.”
No other details were immediately released by HHS.
Local 10 News reporter Hannah Yechivi spoke to the roommates of that person of interest about why they thought federal agents were after him.
“They said that he did medical fraud, but I don’t know what that would mean, and from my understanding, he’s a good guy with a good heart. He was just struggling a little bit with some addiction issues,” one roommate identified only as Kashi said.
Kashi and Angela said their roommate was not in a good state of mind.
“If he is not answering anymore, he is in a tough spot. He could very well be in danger with the way you guys are trying to get him out. It was very hostile and threatening and it seemed that wasn’t an issue to them,” Angela said.
What was an issue for the roommates was the way they said the SWAT team treated them.
“They assaulted me, threw me to the ground, disrespected me, destroyed my car,” Kashi said.
His car was left behind unusable in the middle of the road and one one of the main windows was broken. Another roommate decided to do “a cleanse” to the house and car by burning sage.
Attorney Alex Arreaza, who was not involved in the case, said there is more they can do since the liability protection of sovereign immunity doesn’t give law enforcement “a complete out” when they damage civilians’ property.
Arreaza said civilians can still seek compensation in county court.
“I have seen people take them to small claims court and lose and they’ve lost,” Arreaza said.