FRISCO, Texas — The Frisco Police Department has announced plans to implement new training and adjust its procedures for reviewing situations where officers force their way into private homes. This comes after an incident in January in which officers entered the wrong apartment while investigating a reported domestic disturbance. The actual victim was later found on a different floor of the building.
The department cleared both officers involved after conducting an internal review prompted by a complaint from Elvin Turner and his mother, Lisa, who described being frightened when officers forced their way into their apartment.
“It is extremely unfortunate that Mr. Turner was caught up in a situation he did not deserve,” Frisco Police Chief David Shilson said, adding that the department had apologized to the family. He explained that the officers had been directed to the apartment by a dispatcher based on a 911 call.
“They are acting on the information they have at the time,” Chief Shilson said.
Body-worn camera footage shows Elvin Turner repeatedly telling officers they did not have permission to enter his apartment.
“You can’t come in. It’s just me and my mother here,” Turner is seen saying. “You’ve got the wrong apartment.”
Despite Turner’s objections, one officer entered the apartment and pointed a stun gun at Turner. The second officer, a Frisco Police sergeant, remained by the door. Turner later shared the video with WFAA.
“I thought initially I was going to be shot,” Turner told WFAA. “This situation has turned me into someone I’m not. I have so much anger, so much rage inside me now because I’m still asking, ‘Why wasn’t my word enough?’”
The original 911 call, made just after 6:15 p.m. on January 23, reported a disturbance where it sounded like a man was assaulting a woman. The caller believed the disturbance might be coming from the apartment above hers, although she wasn’t sure, according to the police report and the 911 call, which were later obtained by Turner and shared with WFAA.
Chief Shilson stated that the call provided the legal justification for the officers to enter the apartment without a warrant. He emphasized that the officers acted on the assumption that there might be a victim inside, though he wished the situation had been handled differently.
“We could’ve taken the time to say, ‘We cannot leave here until we verify there isn’t a victim in that apartment,’” Chief Shilson said. “The consequences of not investigating and not checking are pretty severe.”
An internal review concluded that the officers did not violate any laws or department policies. However, Shilson said the department would make changes based on the incident and Turner’s complaint.
“We need to do a better job of communicating,” Shilson said.
The department will now classify situations where officers force their way into an apartment as a “forced entry,” which will trigger automatic review protocols, similar to incidents involving forced entry through broken doors. Furthermore, complaints like Turner’s will now be escalated to a supervisor and treated separately from routine comments the department receives.
The department also reviewed the history of the officers involved and found no pattern of excessive force or racial profiling. According to documents obtained by WFAA, the officers had received commendations for lifesaving work in 2024. However, the officer who entered Turner’s apartment had received three excessive force complaints since 2020, although he was cleared in all three cases.
“We review each complaint individually,” Chief Shilson said. “Out of 11,000 calls for service, that number of complaints is actually pretty good.”
Elvin Turner stated that the changes the department is implementing are “a good start.”
“I’m not really sure what answers I need to feel at peace because I’m still trying to process the event itself,” Turner said.