BEL AIRE, Kansas -- The mayor of Bel Aire is calling for an external investigation into a police department raid after officers searched an elderly couple’s home for marijuana.

That elderly couple is former Bel Aire mayor, Harold Smith, and his wife, Carolyn. They are demanding answers as well.

A plant found in the Smith’s backyard is at the center of the case. A Bel Aire police officer drove by and thought it was marijuana. That eventually led to an invasive search of the Smith’s house by 10 to 11 Bel Aire police officers. It was called off only after officers finally discovered the plant was a sunflower.

"Amongst other things, their house was completely searched -- their closets, their drawers, their most private spaces -- and everything from their house, from the contents of their closets to the contents of their dresser drawers was, for some unknown reason, videotaped," said attorney Dan Monnat, Wichita.

The couple hired Monnat to look into what went wrong. Bel Aire mayor, Brian Withrow, says he wants to know as well.

"All people involved in this process deserve a thorough review -- everybody -- because ultimately people have to feel comfortable with their police department and that’s really the issue in this particular case," said Withrow.

Withrow said he believes police followed all necessary procedures. A Sedgwick County judge signed the search warrant that allowed officers to search the Smith’s house.

"I think now, based on what I know, there was a great deal of care in the process, which is what perplexes me. I don’t know what went wrong," said Withrow.

That includes how police misidentified the plant in the first place.

"You would think that, in the sunflower state, a reasonably trained law enforcement officer would be able to distinguish marijuana plants from sunflowers," said Monnat.

We tried several times to contact the Bel Aire police chief for comment, but were unable to reach him.