• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Question about search warrants and arrest warrants.

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Rockafella

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? PA
Ok here is the run down of what happened. A lady (drug user) stole some money from my father and ran into a house. My father allegedly went to the person house the lady went into and was beating on the door asking for his money. No one come out. The lady proclaims he then went to a vehicle located outside the house and said if you are not out here in 30 seconds I am going to break the windshield. He then allegedly broke the windshield and returned to his girlfriends house. My father and his girlfriend when in his girlfriends home when they heard a knock at the door and the police identified themselves. His girlfriend asked why they where there. They said we are here to arrest and said my fathers name. My dad said don't let them in unless they have a warrant. They said they where also going to search the house. My dad's girlfriend asked them if they had a warrant to slide it under the door or make it visiable so she could read it. They did not do so and kicked the door in and ran into the bathroom where my father was and assualted him. My fathers girlfriend said there was about 4 officers and they got my father on the ground who is 49 years old and beat him with batons and kicked him repeatedly after he said he was cooperating and was not trying to resist. She shooted please stop you going to kill him and a police officer smacked her and threw her on the couch. They then proceeded to drag my father out of the house while still beating him. They then ripped her house apart stating they where looking for a gun that they never found. My father does not own a firearm. My question is, is this legal? Did they need a arrest warrant and a search warrant to enter the home and arrest my father and search the house for a firearm?
Thanks,
Rocky
 


BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? PA
Ok here is the run down of what happened. A lady (drug user) stole some money from my father and ran into a house. My father allegedly went to the person house the lady went into and was beating on the door asking for his money. No one come out. The lady proclaims he then went to a vehicle located outside the house and said if you are not out here in 30 seconds I am going to break the windshield. He then allegedly broke the windshield and returned to his girlfriends house. My father and his girlfriend when in his girlfriends home when they heard a knock at the door and the police identified themselves. His girlfriend asked why they where there. They said we are here to arrest and said my fathers name. My dad said don't let them in unless they have a warrant. They said they where also going to search the house. My dad's girlfriend asked them if they had a warrant to slide it under the door or make it visiable so she could read it. They did not do so and kicked the door in and ran into the bathroom where my father was and assualted him. My fathers girlfriend said there was about 4 officers and they got my father on the ground who is 49 years old and beat him with batons and kicked him repeatedly after he said he was cooperating and was not trying to resist. She shooted please stop you going to kill him and a police officer smacked her and threw her on the couch. They then proceeded to drag my father out of the house while still beating him. They then ripped her house apart stating they where looking for a gun that they never found. My father does not own a firearm. My question is, is this legal? Did they need a arrest warrant and a search warrant to enter the home and arrest my father and search the house for a firearm?
Thanks,
Rocky
Your father needs to start telling you the truth.:rolleyes:
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
An argument can be made for "hot pursuit" depending on the time that has passed and the details. And even if the police DID have a warrant (search OR arrest), they certainly did not have to delay as long as they did before making entry. The fact that they asked nicely was more than most would have done. For all the cops knew dad was arming himself with said gun preparing to make a stand inside the house ... the longer they delayed, the greater the risk of injury or death.

If dad feels he has a case, he can contact an attorney and ask about a civil suit.

- Carl
 

Rockafella

Junior Member
All information recieved on the affidavit was from the lady that is a cocain user. The police know she is a dope addict. My understanding is that if the police do not witness a crime taking place like threw a window ect. They cannot enter your home without a search warrant. I mean so basically if I want someone arrested I can just call the police and say they have a gun in the house and the police will kick down the door and beat the crap out of them? That does not sound like that should be possible. Then ontop of that if there are 4 police officers and one man there is no reason for the beating that took place. I don't see how 4 armed police officers should have to resort to the voilence that took place if there is only 1 unarmed man who surrendered. Also the places they where searching there is no way there would have been a gun in those places. My understanding is they were looking for a shotgun. I dont see how a shotgun could fit on a self that has numerous house hold games on it. They over turned the self for no reason and wrecked the house. In my heart I don't find this very constitutional.
 

Rockafella

Junior Member
Another reason supporting that the police should of had a search warrant was they knew it was not my dads house, as far as they knew him and his girlfriend had split because they came a few days previous to this and kicked him out.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Rockafella said:
All information recieved on the affidavit was from the lady that is a cocain user. The police know she is a dope addict.
Irrelevant. Dope addicts can be victims, too. Her past might come into play with regard to her credibility as a witness against your father in court, but as long as her story and the surrounding facts are sufficient to support the probable cause to believe a crime has been committed, then that's all that is needed for an arrest or a warrant.

My understanding is that if the police do not witness a crime taking place like threw a window ect. They cannot enter your home without a search warrant.
This is just not true. There are exceptions to this. Whether such an exception occurred, here, who knows? I would have to see the officers' reports to know.

Additionally, you just said that there was an affidavit - I presume for a warrant. That would seem to indicate tha a warrant was issued. Was it?

I mean so basically if I want someone arrested I can just call the police and say they have a gun in the house and the police will kick down the door and beat the crap out of them?
Not QUITE that easy.

Yopu also don't know if anyone else saw your dad's behavior. Does he deny going to her house and breaking out the window?

Then ontop of that if there are 4 police officers and one man there is no reason for the beating that took place.
Was he resisting? Were they beating him or were they trying to grab his arms and place them behidn his back. I, too, have been accused of "beating" a guy that I was simply sitting on trying to pry his hands behind his back (they were under his stomach) as he was kicking ME in the back! It will be up to a court to determine if the force was excessive. Dad can speak to a civil rights attorney.

I don't see how 4 armed police officers should have to resort to the voilence that took place if there is only 1 unarmed man who surrendered.
You might be surprised.

Again, without knowing the officers take on events, it's hard to say.

Was dad injured? Did anyone else witness dad being taken into custody? Precisely what action did they witness?

Also the places they where searching there is no way there would have been a gun in those places. My understanding is they were looking for a shotgun. I dont see how a shotgun could fit on a self that has numerous house hold games on it.
A shotgun can be only a few inches wide ... my Remington 870 in my car is 2" wide and 38" long - if the butt were chopped off it would be 26" long. Is the game shelf at least 2" tall and 2' wide? If the weapon were placed at an angle, the shelf could be even narrower and STILL conceal a sawed off shotgun.

They over turned the self for no reason and wrecked the house. In my heart I don't find this very constitutional.
Then the family can consult an attorney, make a claim for damages, and then sue if their claim is not responded to.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Rockafella said:
Another reason supporting that the police should of had a search warrant was they knew it was not my dads house, as far as they knew him and his girlfriend had split because they came a few days previous to this and kicked him out.
It would not be the first time that a girlfriend allowed her ex back into the home. My guess is that the girlfriend never denied he was there.

Is you dad on probation or parole? That would also generally permit a search without a warrant.

- Carl
 

Rockafella

Junior Member
The paper i was talking about is the paper that has the list of charges on it. I have not actually seen it. It's in my dad possession. From what he has told me it has the lady's name and basically said that he was being charged for bustin her car window ect. You would think that if he was resisting arrest the police would have charged him with that or a disorderly conduct as well to protect themselves. They gave him a royal whooping because the witness the girlfriend said she had told them he said he surrendered stop beating him your gonna kill em. From what she told me after he was cuffed they basically used his head a battery ram. One of my dads friends called me. From what the guy said I just got out and your dad told me to call you. The guy told me what my dad said happened and he said you know the police beat your dad up pretty bad right? I said really? He said yah. He's lucky he's not dead. I guess when my dads girlfriend told them to stop beating him they smacked her and threw her on the couch. I went up the house yesterday and looked around sure enought the front door is completely kicked off the hinges and the house is wrecked. I looked in the bathroom were the police allegedly arrested my dad and there was no evidence of a struggle. I asked his girlfriend why she said there was alot of blood enough to make it look like a person had practically been shot so she cleaned it up.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Well, he needs to go to a doctor to document any injuries he sustained, secure an attorney to defend against the criminal charges, and then look into an attorney and a civil suit if he feels he has a case. Firstm he has to beat the criminal charges. But, if he broke the window, he's not going to win there and that will show a propensity towards violence. And fi the girlfriend made any previous allegations of violence against dad, then he's going to look like a violent thug thus taking away any weight from a claim of being an innocent and surrendering victim of police abuse.

This is dad's affair and not yours, so there really is nothing you can do about it.

- Carl
 

Mikef6301

Junior Member
warrant

Yes, you can get the cops to break down the door of an enemy via just a telephone call. Call from a prepaid, untraceable cell phone and say you are their therapist. Give them a name from a Licensened Psychologist, Social Worker, or similar profession from a publicly available internet database. This is in case they check, which they probably won't. Tell the police officer that your patient is molesting children and collecting child porn. The police officer or detective will write up and affadavidt stating they have a report from a named informant. The judge will rubber stamp it, and in a day or two your enemies door will be kicked open. If you follow this, you will likely be breaking a law.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Mikef6301 said:
Yes, you can get the cops to break down the door of an enemy via just a telephone call. Call from a prepaid, untraceable cell phone and say you are their therapist. Give them a name from a Licensened Psychologist, Social Worker, or similar profession from a publicly available internet database. This is in case they check, which they probably won't. Tell the police officer that your patient is molesting children and collecting child porn. The police officer or detective will write up and affadavidt stating they have a report from a named informant. The judge will rubber stamp it, and in a day or two your enemies door will be kicked open. If you follow this, you will likely be breaking a law.
That lack of follow-up would be pretty shoddy police work. You wouldn't happen to have an example of this actually happening, would you? Perhaps a link to a news story?

It wouldn't work that way where I have ever worked.

- Carl
 

Mikef6301

Junior Member
Yes it happened and no I don't have a news article. In this particular geographic area the news is only interested in reporting what the police tell them. The police can saw whatever they want on the news as long as they preface every statement with “we believe.” Yes it's shoddy police work. At the very least you would think you would interview the person who's home you just broke into and find out who all had access to the computer. Verifying the identity of the therapist and determing if it was a proper patient client relationship would be a good idea too.


That lack of follow-up would be pretty shoddy police work. You wouldn't happen to have an example of this actually happening, would you? Perhaps a link to a news story?

It wouldn't work that way where I have ever worked.

- Carl
 
ya know, there was one guy pushing the ACLU yesterday, and I hate to sound like that guy, but if you truly believe there is a case against your fathers civil rights, those are the guys to talk to. They'll help you find the right attorneys, and answer any questions you may have, as well as look at all the facts first hand to figure out what happened.

--Dave.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top