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New Brighton Woman Says Police Are Harassing Her

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A New Brighton woman says she and her daughter are being harassed by law enforcement.

Michelle Voeller says five times over the past 10 months, officers have knocked on her door late at night and in the early morning looking for someone who doesn't live there.

"All of a sudden, someone was pounding on the door really hard," Voeller said.

It was about a month after Voeller and her daughter Ashley had moved into their new home.

"We stood here and they're pounding and they said, 'Open up, it's the New Brighton Police, we know you're in there,'" said Michelle.

It was all happening at around 11 p.m.

"They would shine the light in our eyes through the windows," Ashley said.

When Voeller let officers in, they said they were looking for a "Mr. Roach." When she told them he doesn't live there. They apologized and left, but it wasn't over.

"That was the first of the beginning of my nightmare," Voeller said.

Weeks later, police stopped by again and did the same thing.

"They would pound on the door -- boom, boom, boom -- really hard," Voeller said.

Every few weeks it happens all over again. In all, Voeller says authorities have stopped by her home five times since she and her daughter moved in last August. The last time was Friday, when she says investigators knocked on her door at 4:00 a.m.

"I just said to her, 'Oh my gosh, when is this going to end?'" Voeller said.

New Brighton Police say there is a warrant out for the man who used to live in the home before Michelle and Ashley moved in. Officers said they stopped by twice and figured out they were wrong, but a spokesman believes members of another law enforcement agency may still have the same address for the man, and are likely the ones knocking on the door in the middle of the night.

"I want it to stop and I don't want them to keep coming to our house when the guy doesn't live here," Ashely said.

Voeller says she suffers from PTSD and has a hard time sleeping. She's angry, frustrated, and embarrassed, but most of all she wants law enforcement to leave her alone.

"I moved here because I did my research and I felt safe, but I don't feel safe anymore," Voeller said.

Voeller says she's stopped by the police department three times asking for help to stop the late night visits. She also said that she and her daughter are thinking about moving.

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