cops broke into my house.. do i have a case?

[faith1]

I live in CA.
Less than a week ago I was awakened by a group of cops, in my bedroom, with flashlights in my face, shouting at me to get out of bed. I am a 20 yr old female, alone in my house, and wearing thong underwear and a tank top. I did what I was told.. I was also ordered to turn around with my hands in the air and walk towards them.. (butt exposed). I asked what was going on and they escorted me to my living room, where there were more cops, probably totaling around 25. I was still exposed and at no time was I asked if I wanted to put on clothes. They asked me where "john doe" was, a name I recognized from mail I get sometimes.. I moved here around a month and a half ago and still receive others' mail. When they realized I dont know the guy and that he just used to live there, they embarassingly told me to put pants on, apologized, and said they had entered through my side door that was unlocked, which means they scaled a padlocked 6 foot fence/gate to get to the side of my house. It was embarassing, I still have a lot of random stuff lying around from moving and all the cops were looking at my things. Then they gave me their business cards "in case I needed to make a complaint" and left. Just wondering if I have any sort of legal ground to sue them?

 

[smutlydog]

I live in CA.
Less than a week ago I was awakened by a group of cops, in my bedroom, with flashlights in my face, shouting at me to get out of bed. I am a 20 yr old female, alone in my house, and wearing thong underwear and a tank top. I did what I was told.. I was also ordered to turn around with my hands in the air and walk towards them.. (butt exposed). I asked what was going on and they escorted me to my living room, where there were more cops, probably totaling around 25. I was still exposed and at no time was I asked if I wanted to put on clothes. They asked me where "john doe" was, a name I recognized from mail I get sometimes.. I moved here around a month and a half ago and still receive others' mail. When they realized I dont know the guy and that he just used to live there, they embarassingly told me to put pants on, apologized, and said they had entered through my side door that was unlocked, which means they scaled a padlocked 6 foot fence/gate to get to the side of my house. It was embarassing, I still have a lot of random stuff lying around from moving and all the cops were looking at my things. Then they gave me their business cards "in case I needed to make a complaint" and left. Just wondering if I have any sort of legal ground to sue them?

You probably should go ahead and make a formal complaint.If revenge is on your mind then a letter to local news paper might be in order.

When you sue someone you have to show damages. That's if you plan on making money out of the deal. How can you put a price on humiliation? Cops are like the rest of us. They do make mistakes. Hey if these cops had made as many mistakes as I have in life they would have been kicked off the force a long time ago.But that's a different story that you probably don't want to hear.

 

[BL]

She should file a formal Complaint and be entitled to a written response .

A reprimand can be placed in the officers' File , and an apology to the victim , even if the repercussions are that little .

Persons sue for illegal entry by police all the time .

Yes , sometimes police make mistakes by entering the wrong Apt. , Etc .

That doesn't excuse the incident .

 

[tranquility]

You would need to find out why they entered before suing. That is why a complaint is appropriate. The police would need to investigate and give you a written finding which may include a reason.

While I am willing to bet they will have a valid defense to suit, remember you must file a claim within six months in order to eventually file a civil suit. Civil rights law can be very technical. See an attorney. If he won't take the case on contingency, you have an answer as to how good the case is.

 

[acmb05]

I live in CA.
Less than a week ago I was awakened by a group of cops, in my bedroom, with flashlights in my face, shouting at me to get out of bed. I am a 20 yr old female, alone in my house, and wearing thong underwear and a tank top. I did what I was told.. I was also ordered to turn around with my hands in the air and walk towards them.. (butt exposed). I asked what was going on and they escorted me to my living room, where there were more cops, probably totaling around 25. I was still exposed and at no time was I asked if I wanted to put on clothes. They asked me where "john doe" was, a name I recognized from mail I get sometimes.. I moved here around a month and a half ago and still receive others' mail. When they realized I dont know the guy and that he just used to live there, they embarassingly told me to put pants on, apologized, and said they had entered through my side door that was unlocked, which means they scaled a padlocked 6 foot fence/gate to get to the side of my house. It was embarassing, I still have a lot of random stuff lying around from moving and all the cops were looking at my things. Then they gave me their business cards "in case I needed to make a complaint" and left. Just wondering if I have any sort of legal ground to sue them?

Did they have a search warrant?

 

[CdwJava]

If they had an arrest warrant for "John Doe" and the listed address was your address, then they likely had a right to make entry.


- Carl

 

[faith1]

Did they have a search warrant?

no. they didnt.

they were looking for a guy who apparently used to live at this address, who is on probation, and recently violated it. the guy who gave me his business card, who was responsible for the incident, was a deputy probation officer. he was the only one not in uniform.

i talked to a lawyer today who said that because there was no physical injury its probably not a good enough case to get back a settlement or a settlement even worth the time.

too bad. i know that if this happened to someone like my mother, she would have nightmares, lowered self esteem, and it would affect her sleep for a long time. that to me can be more damaging than anything else.

 

[CdwJava]

If he violated probation, then this was likely his given address and they had a right to make entry ... if they had a warrant for his arrest, then the entry would lalso be good.

You can always make a complaint to the agency for the actions. It might be that someone should have done at least a little follow-up to confirm the validity of the address for the suspect ... but, a month-and-a-half is not so long that it would be unreasonable to think he might still live there.

- Carl

 

[faith1]

If he violated probation, then this was likely his given address and they had a right to make entry ... if they had a warrant for his arrest, then the entry would lalso be good.

You can always make a complaint to the agency for the actions. It might be that someone should have done at least a little follow-up to confirm the validity of the address for the suspect ... but, a month-and-a-half is not so long that it would be unreasonable to think he might still live there.

- Carl

i talked to my landlord.. there was another tenant after him. he hasnt lived here for over a year. i will probably file a complaint.