The leaders of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship church in Kent are asking for “at a minimum written apologies” from three law enforcement agencies after an Oct. 16 incident at its parking lot led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In an Oct. 19 press release, the Rev. Leslie Braxton, the church’s senior pastor, said DEA and Renton Police vehicles trespassed onto private property in the pre-dawn hours, using the parking lot as a staging site, for a nearby DEA operation. He said they did not have permission to use the property.
The church is at 19300 108th Ave. SE, very close to the city of Renton border.
“DEA and Renton Police presence on the church’s property was illegal and unauthorized,” according to the press release. “Additionally, DEA personnel refused to identify who they were and explain why they were on the property when directly asked by the church’s chief operations officer when he arrived on campus.”
COURTESY PHOTO, The Rev. Leslie Braxton. New Beginnings Christian Fellowship
Braxton also is upset with the Kent Police for an Oct. 17 news release that stated a DEA operation was at the church, but failed to make clear the church was not the target of the operation. Kent Police issued the release after community buzz about a possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid near the church, but pointed out it was a DEA operation.
The church’s press release said those actions potentially tarnished the church’s reputation and name within the community.
“The church awaits answers from DEA and Renton Police officials regarding the basic question of who instructed personnel to trespass the church’s private property?
“The church also expects at a minimum written apologies from each of the law enforcement agencies involved in the transgression of our rights, the manifest disrespect of sacred space and the tarnish of our reputation due to related communications.”
COURTESY PHOTO New Beginnings Christian Fellowship church, 19300 108th Ave. SE., Kent.
Police responses
Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla issued the following response in an Oct. 22 email to the Kent Reporter after being asked about the incident and a request by Braxton for an apology.
“Our (Facebook) post in no way indicated that the church or any of its members were the focus of the DEA operation,” Padilla said. “In light of concerns raised by Rev. Braxton we added clarification to the original post that the church was not the target of the DEA operation. It’s important to remember that the only reason KPD has any involvement with this unfortunate situation is because inaccurate assumptions were made by Rev. Braxton’s church staff that ICE had been on their property and a KPD patrol car was present with them. We investigated it and confirmed that neither of those assumptions were true.”
When asked about the church’s requests by the Kent Reporter, a spokesperson for the Renton Police issued the following statement:
“We don’t know anything about a news release,” according to an Oct. 20 email from the spokesperson. “New Beginnings is welcome to contact us.”
The DEA’s Media Affairs Section did not respond to an email from the Kent Reporter with questions about the incident, including the church asking for an apology.
DEA, Renton drug bust
Renton Police assisted the DEA with serving five federal search warrants in Renton, according to information received by the Renton Reporter.
According to the Renton Police Department, in the early morning of Oct. 16, Renton police assisted the DEA to serve a federal narcotics warrant, which helped break up a narcotics trafficking ring. According to Renton Police, the DEA and other investigating agencies arrested seven suspects in eight separate search warrants.
Five of the warrants were served in Renton, according to police. Warrants were also served in Burien, Bellevue and Seattle.
“The DEA requested a marked Renton Police car for the warrant in the 19900 block of 101st Avenue SE., early Thursday (Oct. 16),” according to Renton Police. “The officer was a visible police presence and assisted with announcing that agents were serving the federal narcotics warrant. Once agents secured the scene, the officer returned to regular duty.”
That address along 101st Avenue SE is just a mile from New Beginnings Christian Fellowship church.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated Oct. 22 with a statement from the Kent Police chief. Photos also have been added of Rev. Leslie Braxton and the New Beginnings Christian Fellowship church.
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