CODY -- A woman from Powell has filed a federal lawsuit against the Powell Police Department, saying its officers used excessive force when they broke down her door and then used her as a human shield while searching her home for illegal drugs.

Tricia Wachsmuth filed the lawsuit March 8 in Casper's U.S. District Court. She says that neither she nor her husband, Bret Wachsmuth, had prior criminal histories and there was no evidence they sold drugs when police searched her home in February 2009.

She says police knocked down her door, set off a "flashbang"explosive, then held her at gunpoint and used her as a human shield to search the home. She says the search netted two marijuana plants, and the aggressive tactics were inappropriate for a misdemeanor drug search.

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