The situation began when special operations officers from the 12th Precinct were pretending to be drug dealers in what is known as a "push off." The "dealers" waited to be approached by potential buyers, where they would then drop their cover, arrest the would-be buyer, and seize their vehicle. They were met instead by officers in the 11th Precinct, who were executing a search warrant on a suspected drug house in Andover, which borders the two precincts on 7 Mile Road.