WASHINGTON - Residents in one District neighborhood were shocked to find Montgomery County (web | news) police in their neighborhood Wednesday, in what appeared to be a raid on a home. But the residents were outraged when they learned it was all staged for a TV show, and they were not warned.

According to witnesses, it appeared as though the off-duty, but uniformed, Montgomery County police officers -- with their cruisers -- were raiding a house. But it was all an act for a Discovery show called "Prison Wives".

"It looked totally real," said Kelly Craven, a neighborhood day care provider. "Everyone believed it was real."

Craven says she was was stunned and scared by what she saw Wednesday morning on her street in D.C.'s Takoma neighborhood.

"They were a lot of cops with guns drawn, running up and down the street," Craven recalled. "[It] looked like they were searching for somebody, going up to the house yelling, 'SWAT! We're coming in!"

The scene played out in front of a home in the 300 block of Aspen Street NW, about two blocks from the Maryland border along Eastern Avenue.

As a result, residents say they were unnecessarily frightened and inconvenienced.

"I think it's just outrageous," said neighborhood resident Simone de Lima. "If they're going to do a film or a photo shoot or whatever, the neighbors should be notified."

Production company Sirens Media -- a Discovery contractor -- never notified D.C. police or applied for a permit to shoot in the District, according to the city's Office of Motion Pictures and Television Development. A spokesperson for the office said the production company was clearly not following rules and regulations when it "went rogue" Wednesday in the District.

Montgomery County police say the work was sanctioned by the off-duty officers' supervisors and arranged through the police union.

"We fully expected that the filming was taking place in Montgomery County," said Lucille Baur, a Montgomery County police spokeswoman. "It would certainly not be our policy to take part in filming in another jurisdiction without coordination with that jurisdiction."

Sirens Media, the production company, issued an apology to neighborhood residents in response to a request from the film office. It promised to work closely with the D.C. Office of Motion Pictures and Television Development, D.C. police and the Department of Transportation in future endeavors. (CLICK HERE to read the apology letter.)

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