HUNTSVILLE — A Monday afternoon drug raid resulted in the seizure of about 8 ounces of marijuana for Huntsville Police Department, but left one neighbor scared and angry.

Ten to 15 armed city SWAT officers raided a home at 911 Sam Houston Ave. at around 5:30 p.m. Monday but found that the suspect they were looking for was not at home. No arrests were made as a result of the raid, said Lt. Jim Barnes with the Huntsville Police Department.

Barnes declined to say who or what police expected to find in the home when they raided it.

But those were questions neighbor Tom Waddill had for police.

Waddill was playing with his 4-year-old son in the front yard of his home directly across the street from 911 Sam Houston Ave. when the raid began.

“The sun was setting. The day was getting late, and an ambulance comes down the hill from Mance Park (Middle School),” Waddill said. “It pulled into a parking lot across the street and parked. The ambulance didn’t have its lights on. I thought maybe somebody was hurt at the new YMCA (Teen Center). All of a sudden, here come between 10 and 20 guys in Army fatigues with guns out, yelling.”

Waddill said police told two men standing in front of the house to lie on the ground. Those men were handcuffed, he said.

“I hurried (my son) inside. He said, ‘Look at that, Daddy.’ It didn’t take me long to figure it wasn’t anything we wanted to be out there watching,” Waddill said. “They surrounded the house. It could have been very dangerous. Did they even know or care that we were outside? It could have been a shootout right there in the front yard, and we weren’t very far from that.”

Waddill said he’s concerned that SWAT officers were used for an operation that yielded no arrests and no narcotics.

Barnes said arrests are pending in the case, and he believes the operation was a success.

“Half a pound of marijuana off the streets is a victory for us and for the community,” he said. “Anytime when we serve narcotics search warrants, the potential for violent conflict is there. When you have the opportunity to strike quickly, we can contain the scene. We have yet to have an injury to the bad guys or us. It can be intimidating.”

Police Chief Kevin Lunsford said tactical decisions are made on a case-by-case basis using intelligence gathered from many sources.

“While it is not my policy to discuss the specifics of tactical decisions, those decisions are always made with the safety of everyone in mind,” he said. “That includes bystanders, suspects and officers alike. The safety of everyone involved is always our utmost priority. This particular operation was carried out utilizing officers who have been specifically and specially trained for these types of situations.”