On a recent afternoon at the Pastrana home on Anderson Avenue, things seemed relatively normal for a late-summer day. The fifth-floor apartment was filled with the sounds of laughter, video games, and young kids jokingly telling each other to “shut up.” There was no visible evidence of the chaotic scene that had unfolded a little more than a year ago.

In the early-morning hours of August 28, 2006, police officers kicked down the door to the Pastrana home as well as the unit one level below in an apparent search for guns and drugs. They found neither, except for a half-joint of marijuana at the Young residence downstairs.

Luis Pastrana, then 21, was treated later that day for neck and back injuries and had a suture removed from his ear. He alleged the injuries were sustained when an officer struck him on the side of his face with a gun. Pastrana said that while he and his mother, Maria Sanchez, were handcuffed on the floor, his nieces and daughter were kept in a separate room with the door locked as officers questioned them.

The NYPD has denied any wrongdoing in the raids, saying it is not uncommon for suspects not to be in possession of drugs or guns at the time raids are carried out. The department also said at the time that it was not aware of any abuse being carried out during the raids.

The matter is under investigation by the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), but progress remains slow to say the least: With the passage of the one-year anniversary of the raids, the case had still not gone before the board panel. CCRB spokesman Andrew Case said one reason the Pastrana case was still open was a lengthy delay in receiving the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau’s investigation file. Case said such delays were not unusual.

“It could be just bureaucracy with the PD, I have no idea,” Case said. “I don’t want to guess that there’s evil intentions behind it. But there’s a longstanding issue with the PD and CCRB about access to documents.”

NYPD spokesman John Kelly did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Recently, the case was forwarded to a three-person board panel. One of the three panel members is appointed by the police commissioner, one by the mayor, and one by the city council. The panel will investigate two essential elements of the case; the decision to raid the Pastrana apartment in the first place, and the conduct of officers once inside the home. Case said the CCRB had been able to determine that there were eleven total officers involved in the raids; seven from the Emergency Services Unit and four from the Anti-Crime unit.

On May 3, Pastrana received a letter from Internal Affairs informing him that no disciplinary measures would be taken against any officers because evidence was deemed insufficient. “I read the letter once,” Luis Pastrana said. “And I was like…” He finished his sentence with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Pastrana’s lawyer Matthew Flamm still has not filed a lawsuit against the city of New York, though indications are that he plans to in the not too distant future: In an August 16 letter to his client seeking authorization to release Pastrana’s medical records, Flamm wrote: “So long as I get all the paperwork back soon, I expect to be filing the lawsuit in the next few weeks.”

While the legal aspects of the case have dragged, the emotional elements are still fresh for the Pastrana family. Luis Pastrana said the previous year had gone by very quickly, and that he still thinks about the raids often. But he added that his job working at a gas station keeps him preoccupied enough to take his mind off the events of last summer for stretches a time.

Luis Pastrana’s mother and nieces said that the raids had altered even their most basic daily routines. “ I don’t want to walk by myself. I’m scared that the cops are following me,” Sanchez said, adding that she still thinks about the raids every day, and that she takes pills to sleep at night.

Pastrana said his nieces are frightened at the sound of any knock on the door and that since the raids, they haven’t wanted to stay at his apartment. “Every time I gotta go to the bathroom,” said Jomaira, 7, “I leave the door a little bit closed. Cause I’m scared of the police coming again.”