Click the link to be added to the "Whoops. Sorry, citizen. We thought you were someone else" PING list.
Posted on 01/15/2012 7:19:28 PM PST by bamahead
What is more, if the intended site of the raid is nearby, the people there have a heads up to vamoose or make damaging evidence disappear when a convocation of cops suddenly appears down the street.
Some drug addled informant likely swore up and down this was the spot, while naming an address elsewhere on the street. There will probably be an official statement that “this informant will no longer be used” but beyond that, a stone wall.
Even if the raid was an “honest mistake” and the evidence was in plain sight?
I think so. They had no probable cause at all to enter that house. They could probably seize evidence, but not use it.
“The men told the Freelands that they had a warrant but did not show it to them, according to the complaint.”
Apparently those police officers consider this little amendment to be outdated:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Click the link to be added to the "Whoops. Sorry, citizen. We thought you were someone else" PING list.
yes, they had no right to be there at all. All “evidence” would be tied to the fact that they had no warrant for that address.
As long as innocent taxpayers are being sued and held responsible for the abuse of police, instead of those who actually carry it out, it will not end. The police unions are the parties that need sued just as they threatened to sue the OWS protestors. If it is good for the gander it should be good for the geese. I hate civil lawsuits because the attorneys always win, but the lack of any aggressive and serious criminal prosecution against lawless law enforcement leaves no other choice.
Proper protocol would have been for the Police, upon realizing they were at the wrong house, to have planted some combination of narcotics, stolen firearms and child pornography, and then claim to have seen them in plain view from the front door while escorting Girls Scouts on their cookie delivery route.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.