Posted on 08/23/2013 3:12:22 PM PDT by Bodleian_Girl
Memo to Maegan Pitt:
If you're gonna videotape alleged civil rights abuses by the cops, don't be the biggest crime on the tape.
When Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies John McGrath and Philip Blanding sought to execute a warrant for the arrest of Pitt's husband, tainted evangelist and cop wannabe Matt Pitt, she railed at the officers and trailed them through the Trussville home.
"There is so much crap on y'all, y'all are about to get in big trouble," she said.
It was posted on YouTube under the name "Jefferson County illegal search of Matt Pitt's home and use of excessive force." (Snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at al.com ...
Just thought some here might find this interesting.
The question here appears to be, “Is an arrest warrant also a search warrant?”
CC
No they are not. One is to effect the arrest of a specific suspect or perpetrator of a crime. The other is used to conduct a search for a specific item or items usec as tools in the commission of a crime.
It’s a horribly written article but from what little information I gather, the police probably did everything according to the law.
In IL for instance, if police suspect that someone that has a warrant (for their arrest) is in any home/business/shed/garage/etc the police have the right to go in and effect the arrest.
They do not however, have the right to search nooks & crannies for drugs.
According to the article the police were simply looking for the wanted man, they didn’t do anything else. So no rights were violated under the law.
Be careful about supplying legal opinions without knowing the law. Are you certain the laws in the state where this event occurred do not allow police to search a home with an arrest warrant? From what little reading I have done, it appears the laws differ from state to state (which makes sense). In some states, the police apparently have a right to enter a home with an arrest warrant if they have reasonable cause to believe the person they are looking for is in the home. In other states, they don’t (apparently) even need reasonable cause so long as they have an arrest warrant. The laws even seem to vary depending on whether it’s a misdemeanor or felony arrest warrant.
When you watch the video it seems to tell a different story. The cops demanded entry and wrenched the keys from the woman’s hand and let themselves in. Then they searched the house, not just for the man, but looked in drawers and places where the guy obviously was not. But had an arrest warrant, not search warrant.
The wanted guy is a local youth evangelist was flashed a fake badge at a man.
Common sense applies.
But if the police officers go to someone's house to arrest them, and someone comes to the door and says, "they aren't here," do the police have to take that person's word?
It’s an interesting case.
well they can check the house for him if he’s hiding. per thearrest warrant. wouldn’t be the first time a spouse said they weren’t home when they were.
yeah they went too far. they could only search the house for a person they were lookingfor, not search for items and inside furniture, etc.
no. i think if they hear noise like others moving around, or hear a back doorslam, or stuff like that, it would give them enough to investigate. or if they bvelieved the person was lying to them, probqbly would be acting funny.
>>In IL for instance, if police suspect that someone that has a warrant (for their arrest) is in any home/business/shed/garage/etc the police have the right to go in and effect the arrest.
I’m all for getting felons off the street, and against laws that make that more difficult. OTOH, I’m even more concerned about laws that can be turned against honest citizens by their political opponents. I have no opinion on Matt Pitt or his wife, since this is the first I’ve heard of this case. But I do have concerns about a law that gives the cops access to a home on merely the suspicion that a wanted person is in it.
How would you feel if the cops showed up at your house under the pretext of making an arrest and proceeded to search it, including opening drawers that could not possibly be holding a person?
If there were a dangerous felon on the loose, I’d probably be fine with letting the cops in to search, but that would be my choice, not one forced on me.
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.