| |  |
| Home | Law Advice | Insurance Advice | Community |
|
| |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||
| | |
 |
| | LinkBack | Thread Tools | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
|
#1
10-08-2006, 02:52 PM
| |||
| |||
Police entry into a residenceWhat is the name of your state? Pa. Friday night, a few young kids were about to steal some Halloween decorations from in front of my house on the porch. I saw this and went outside with my cell phone to tell them to leave or I would call the police. They finally got the message and did in fact leave the area. About 45 minutes later, there was a knock on my back door. My parents, namely my dad, answered the door to see three figures dressed in black standing there. He slowly opened the screen door a bit to ask them what they wanted when one asked his name then yanked him from the house into the yard and frisked him. Nothing was said to him who they were or what was happening, When he was stood back up again, he saw it was three local police officers. They asked him if he had been out front earlier which he replied "my son was chasing kids away who were going to steal our decorations." They asked him if his son was in the house which he replied yes and that he would get me. The officer said to him "no, i'll get him" and proceeded into my house uninvited and without explanation. My mother, who was on the couch watching tv, was shocked to see a cop in the house unannounced and asked him what he wanted. The cop says he wanted to talk to me so my mother said, "ok, i'll go get him." The cop came right up the stairs behind her and when I came out of my room, told me without explanation to come downstairs and get outside. Again, no explanation given to me either about what was happening. I get outside and he says "someone said you pulled a gun on them earlier tonight!" "Do you own a gun, what kind, model, where is it located?" I sh*t my pants when I heard that! I told him what he needed to know as I do own a pistol and he proceeded back into my house by himself to retrieve the gun! I tell the officers about what happened earlier with those kids, that I had a cell phone in my hand, then they talk, return my gun, and apologize for the inconvenience while they investigated. I'm feeling as though mine and my parents civil rights were violated here as the cop entered my house uninvited, on his own, TWICE, and yanked my father from his own home without notification or explanation! I have no criminal record, not even a parking ticket! I feel my Fourth Amendment Right has been violated and want to file charges if I can with the ACLU against this local police department. I feel they had no legal right to enter my residence without being invited in! No weapon was in plain view and an explanation beforehand was never given! My dad said they didn't even announce themselves as police officers standing there in pitch black darkness in my back yard! Can I have opinions on this please? Last edited by AdviceToMe; 10-08-2006 at 02:54 PM. |
|
#2
10-08-2006, 06:20 PM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
__________________ If you feel my answer is rude, mean, snarky or in anyway not to your liking, I did my job. You don't need to tell me. No private messages, I do not reply to them. |
|
#3
10-08-2006, 08:55 PM
| |||
| |||
| The hell the ACLU doesn't handle cases for individuals! Where the hell have you been, in a cave? Why people with personal views on things insist on responding just burns my ass! I asked for opinions from people with law experience, not people who support anything the jackbooted police do! These guys had no business entering my residence without explanation and especially had no right to pull my father from his own home from behind a closed door! Someone here is going down one way or another! How would you feel, sir, if a cop just walked into your residence unannounced, with no explanation of what was happening, and walked upstairs in your home? If a-holes like that believe something a 7 year old says then they had better get into a new line of work! Maybe I could call the police back now and say a gun was pulled on me by those kids! [url]http://www.flexyourrights.org/at_your_door[/url] [url]http://fourthamendment.com/blog/index.php?blog=1&title=screen_door_still_provides_reasonable_ex&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1[/url] Quote:
|
|
#4
10-08-2006, 09:22 PM
| |||
| |||
| They could have brought the SWAT team and broke down the door. Would that make you any happier? The only gripe you have is against the kids. If the kids reasonalby believed there was a gun and called the police, the police acted rightfully. If the kids lied, then it is on the kids. You'll have to believe me on this but I am not a big police supporter. What the police did was prudent given their beliefs. Since they believed there was a person in the house that threatened the kids with a gun, they acted accordingly. The police believed a felony was commited and had reason to treat your family with hostility. I would not be happy with the situation but do you really expect the police to walk up to a door and carry on a nice conversation at a residence that reportedly threatened kids with a gun? I don't think so. |
|
#5
10-09-2006, 09:19 AM
| |||
| |||
| Believe me when I say this, I have a bit of a reputation on the forum for being anti-police, but your situation is probably not a violation. The legality of what happened is very fact-dependent and when the call is close the police have what is known as qualified immunity which would protect them. Even if it did not, your damages are so slight that no attorney would take the case. True, there are statutes which make the loser pay the attorney's fees, but with the uncertainty of winning this case no one will be willing to risk the enourmous amount of time and effort in litigating it. The ACLU is a political organization with a political agenda--it does not do private litigation as a general rule. The police got the report of a person with a gun on the porch threatening the kids. It is unlikely they were told the genesis of what happened. The police went to the house for a consentual encounter. Your father (depending on the circut, I didn't research your law) gave up his reasonable expectation of privacy when he showed himself as he opened the door. Even if he didn't, screens tend to open out and his arm went past the threshold of your house. He exited your house voluntarially. The police would have the right to detain your father for a reasonable investigation. They could also protect their safety from that with a pat down search for weapons. Your father then told them it was you who went outside. Then he said you were inside the house. The police can enter a house only with a warrant, or, with probable cause and exigent circumstances. The probable cause here is probably good as the police had the report of a person outside with a gun and your father confirmed you were outside at the same time. Exigent circumstances is the harder. One possible explaination is that the "crime" just happened and the person went into the house as reported which was confirmed by the home owner. This would be "hot pursuit". Another possible explination is the exigent circumstance brought up by the very fact the person being sought (as confirmed by your father) was at the house. The police would not have time to get a warrant as a possible person with a gun now knows the police are looking for him. This has been an exigent circumstance in some cases as well. Your father opening the door started the process. His talking to the police allowed the process to continue. Consider yourself lucky no real damages occurred. Unlike the other two posters, I don't think the police would have had the right to enter without those actions. If he did not answer the door, the police may have had to get a search warrant as it is unlikely (but possible) an exigent circumstance would have been found. Last edited by tranquility; 10-09-2006 at 09:22 AM. |
|
#6
10-09-2006, 11:54 AM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
__________________ If you feel my answer is rude, mean, snarky or in anyway not to your liking, I did my job. You don't need to tell me. No private messages, I do not reply to them. |
|
#7
10-09-2006, 04:57 PM
| |||
| |||
| I concur with Tranq's take on the matter. If we respond to a report of a subject inside the house with a gun, we are not going to willy-nilly allow that person to wander about inside possibly preparing a reception of hot lead for the police. The officer's were likely within their rights to follow the trail to the person allegedly armed until they could make sure that all the parties were secure so they could investigate further. - Carl
__________________ A Nor Cal Cop Sergeant "Make mine a double mocha ... And a croissant!" He Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone ....author unknown |
|
#8
10-31-2006, 12:46 AM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
And they didn't ID themselves at the door? I would have shut the door on them and called 911. Then asked for a supervisor. I would get the press involved...this is totally unacceptable....and don't get me started on the fact this could have been a home invasion by perps pretending to be police officers. This whole situation is cr@p. Find a real attorney...soon Mike in VA |
|
#9
10-31-2006, 12:54 AM
| ||||
| ||||
| Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
- carl
__________________ A Nor Cal Cop Sergeant "Make mine a double mocha ... And a croissant!" He Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone ....author unknown |
|
#10
10-31-2006, 02:01 AM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
__________________ It is our unanimous opinion that you are damn right and it should be obvious to any moron that your (ex) (SO’s ex) (boss) (landlord) (local police) should be immediately (jailed) (fired) (reprimanded) (arrested) (demoted) (shot) (evicted). In fact, you are so astonishingly correct in this matter, it will not surprise us one bit if you are offered a generous settlement, because, by golly, that’s just how it should be. You Rock, Love, Us |
|
#11
10-31-2006, 02:53 AM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
- Carl
__________________ A Nor Cal Cop Sergeant "Make mine a double mocha ... And a croissant!" He Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone ....author unknown |
|
#12
10-31-2006, 11:36 AM
| |||
| |||
| I'm pretty sure in every state the police are not allowed in your home unless you give them permission or they have a warrant to do so.... No matter what! |
|
#13
10-31-2006, 11:41 AM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
__________________ If you feel my answer is rude, mean, snarky or in anyway not to your liking, I did my job. You don't need to tell me. No private messages, I do not reply to them. |
|
#14
10-31-2006, 12:10 PM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
Put down the coffee.
__________________ It is our unanimous opinion that you are damn right and it should be obvious to any moron that your (ex) (SO’s ex) (boss) (landlord) (local police) should be immediately (jailed) (fired) (reprimanded) (arrested) (demoted) (shot) (evicted). In fact, you are so astonishingly correct in this matter, it will not surprise us one bit if you are offered a generous settlement, because, by golly, that’s just how it should be. You Rock, Love, Us |
|
#15
10-31-2006, 12:11 PM
| |||
| |||
| Quote:
__________________ It is our unanimous opinion that you are damn right and it should be obvious to any moron that your (ex) (SO’s ex) (boss) (landlord) (local police) should be immediately (jailed) (fired) (reprimanded) (arrested) (demoted) (shot) (evicted). In fact, you are so astonishingly correct in this matter, it will not surprise us one bit if you are offered a generous settlement, because, by golly, that’s just how it should be. You Rock, Love, Us |
|
Linear Mode
