SPARKS — City officials sent out a release late Thursday stating that the U.S. District Court for Nevada had just dismissed a lawsuit brought by Michael and Lisa Fleiner against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and numerous officers of the Sparks Police Department SWAT team for what the Fleiners claimed was excessive and unreasonable damage done to their rental house during the execution of a federal drug search warrant in May 2008.  The warrant was one of more than 10 being executed in a major drug raid, according to the release.

The Fleiners’ lawsuit was filed in February against the city of Sparks, alleging that the officers conducted the search in an unreasonable and excessive manner that destroyed window, doors, gates, fencing carpets, walls and other fixtures in the home. The Fleiners wanted the police to pay for the damage.

"I am pleased that the court recognized the extreme danger to police officers posed by these drug dealers,” Sparks city attorney Chet Adams said in a press release. “I encourage all landlords in Sparks to protect their rental properties by not allowing this type of large scale drug activity.”

In the course of executing the search warrant, about 1.8 pounds of pure methamphetamine were seized, according to the city.

The federal court found that "the safety risks involved to the officers in executing this type of warrant were extreme" and that "due to the inherently dangerous nature of the execution of that type of warrant" the Sparks SWAT team acted reasonably and did not violate the Fleiners' constitutional rights. Due to that fact, the lawsuit was dismissed and cannot be reinstated by amending the claims.