The house at 369 Sherman St. needed a lot of work. The roof and siding were deteriorating. The foundation walls were missing mortar and the chimney had loose bricks. Lots of windows were either broken or boarded up.

No one had lived there for years.

Mohammad Ismail bought the dilapidated house at a city auction of tax delinquent properties late last year for $14,000 with the hopes of renovating it and turning it into a home for his wife and four children who were in Brooklyn.

What he didn't know when he bought the house was that the previous owner was a Buffalo police officer. One day the former owner showed up with another police officer, and Ismail said they threatened to arrest him if he didn't leave.

The dispute has led to two internal affairs probes by the BPD and a lawsuit by Ismail against the police officers and the Buffalo Police Department.

The trouble began on April 18. After finalizing his purchase and obtaining a building permit, Ismail was working on the house when Officer Christopher Fields and a second officer, identified by police sources as Officer Debra A. Strobele, drove up in a patrol car and in uniform and told Ismail that he was trespassing. Fields said the house belonged to him and that he would put Ismail in jail if he didn't leave immediately.