Question

Unwarranted search and harrassment

Asked 21 March 2013 · 1 answer

The question

Ok, where to start... first off i live in a crime ridden african american neighborhood (im caucasian). Im a full time student as is my girlfriend, i have a 2 and a half year old son, and we both have clean records. We are just trying to survive and keep to ourselves.

On march 17, 2013 my girlfriend and i took a quick shower as my 2 and a half year old son watched some morning cartoons. After getting out of the shower and entering the bedroom i heard pounding on my front door, which i figured was just a relative or something. As i begin to get dressed I hear voices inside my house, i assumed it was my girlfriends father. The voices began to not sound right so i peeked my head out of my bedroom and at the end of my hallway is a police officer saying PD come out of the room, "where is (ill refer to this person as swim) swim". (swim is a man i dont even know, he randomly comes to my door occasionally asking to bum a cigarette. Ive never let this person in and have no connection other than this.)Me and my girlfriend are both naked. So I put pants on and walk into the living room to see my son on the couch and 3 officers standing in my living room. As i look out the front door i see 2 possibly 3 patrol cars. I see out the back window and theres 3 cops parked right at my back gate, so my house in surrounded my patrol cars. Officer number one starts walking down the hall and officer number two says an officer saw swim at my house a couple days prior and asked where he was. (He stopped by asking for a cigarette, i said no and went back inside). Than i hear my girlfriend say you cant just walk in here your breaking the law. Officer number one than says, well looks like this is gonna turn into a matter of welfare. And officer number two says the door swung open. At this point officer number three walks outside the house. I say the front door was closed, you were pounding on it, it didnt swing open. Than officer number two says your son opened the door. (My son cant open my front door, hes not tall or strong enough) Officer number one searches my bedrooms and than comes back out and officer number two asks for my name and age. While officer one was searching officer two is repeatedly telling my son "you opened the door, you opened the door". They let my dog out and she took off running around the neighborhood annoying and irritating neighbors. My son is in shock at this point and all day he kept staring off blank saying i opened the door, but i didnt daddy. The police came to my home expecting to be confronted by african americans, the police in this town are also known for racism and unfair treatment towards blacks. My girlfriend and i both have been going through what feels like shock, we cant think straight, cant sleep, and poor memory. I feel violated and unsecure. All my neighbors now look at me like im up to something on their "turf". I feel like im being watched everywhere i go and like im some sort of criminal. Does this sound like something i can try filing a tort for? My civil rights have been violated and i feel like ive fallen under their typical stereotypical regime. Any advice would be appreciated

From the LawyerCentral forum archive. Originally posted 21 March 2013 on a legal forum that has closed. Names and contact details were removed. See the original (Internet Archive).

1 answer

Visitor answer 22 April 2013

This is something I would speak to an attorney in your area about. If "Swim" is a criminal and part of an investigation, it's possible the police may have been able to legally enter your house if they had reason to believe he was there. I know don't enough about "Swim" with the information you provided.

Going on the facts and story you provided, it seems as though the police entered your home without permission. Unfortunately, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling out of Kentucky states that the police are now allowed to enter an individual's home with or without a search warrant if they hear noises on the other side of the door coming from within the house. I believe this ruling was made to prevent people from destroying drugs or evidence before police can seize it. Perhaps the police heard you and your girlfriend moving around inside and decided to make a move.

I am in no way an attorney. As I understand it, police almost always need a search warrant, permission from the owner, or illegal contraband in plain view to just come into a home. This could be different depending on the laws in your state (of which you should ask a lawyer about), but, hypothetically, even if your little son happened to open the door, he is not the home owner and therefore cannot give permission.

This article outlines, among other things, when search warrants aren't needed when authorities enter a home. Though your house wasn't searched, it appears the police wrongfully entered your home. I hope it helps.

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if you truly feel you were harassed by the police, speaking with a lawyer immediately might be the smartest option. Good luck.

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