Entered Without Consent: My Experience in Silsbee

To the best of my recollection, the events described below occurred in 2011 while I was living in Silsbee, Texas. 

At the time, I was living in an apartment in Silsbee. One day, while my landlord was repairing a door, officers from the Silsbee Police Department arrived at my residence.

Officers entered my dwelling without my consent. I did not invite them inside. From my perspective, they let themselves in and were inside my home without my permission.

What began as a routine interaction quickly escalated.

I was accused of something I did not do. I was asked for identification and explained that my driver’s license was in my bedroom. When I walked toward the bedroom to retrieve my wallet, the situation changed abruptly.

Before I was able to present my identification, officers physically intervened. One of my arms was lifted upward against the door frame while the other was forced behind my back. Within moments, I was taken to the ground. During the fall, I struck my head.

This happened inside my own home.

My emotional support dog was present and visibly distressed. The entire experience was frightening and disorienting. No charges were ultimately filed against me.

No report number was ever provided to me. I was not given the opportunity to file a formal complaint at that time, and I left the situation without any documentation explaining what had occurred.

During the encounter, officers told me they believed I might be connected to a prior tenant at the address who, according to them, had been listed as a sex offender. I had never been informed of any such history before moving in. Hearing that explanation made me physically sick. To be mistaken for someone associated with such serious allegations was overwhelming and humiliating.

After moving in, I had noticed unusual stickers and markings inside a closet around the door frame. At the time, I did not understand their significance. When officers suggested confusion related to a previous tenant, it connected in my mind and left me shaken.

Following the incident, my parents were frightened and hesitant to challenge what had happened. Later, my mother told me — in a tone that felt dismissive and harsh — that if I had “just cooperated,” I would not have been put in that position. It was not said gently. It felt like blame.

That moment hurt almost as much as the physical encounter itself. Instead of feeling protected, I felt isolated.

At the time of the incident, the department was led by Chief Dennis Allen, who retired later that year. Leadership transitioned to Mark L. Davis, who now serves as Sheriff of Hardin County. When I later attempted to raise concerns, I did not feel my complaint was meaningfully addressed.

This post is not a declaration of legal wrongdoing. It is a personal account of how I experienced that day and its aftermath.

Accountability is not anti-law enforcement. It is pro-trust. It is pro-community. It protects both citizens and the officers who serve honorably.

In small towns especially, silence can feel safer than speaking up. But silence does not build trust. Transparency does. Listening does. Systems that allow complaints to be documented and reviewed do.

I believe in law enforcement. I also believe that no one should be entered upon, restrained, or humiliated in their own home without clear justification and transparency.

This experience has stayed with me for years.

Telling it now is not about revenge.

It is about record.

It is about accountability.

And it is about trust.