Posted on 09/22/2009 8:36:49 PM PDT by HaplessToad
The headline is not from the Onion. Tampa Bay Online reports:
With guns drawn and flashlights cutting through darkened rooms, Polk County undercover drug investigators stormed the home of convicted drug dealer Michael Difalco near Lakeland in March.Here's a photo of the action:As investigators searched the home for drugs, some drug task force members found other ways to occupy their time. Within 20 minutes of entering Difalco's house, some of the investigators found a Wii video bowling game and began bowling frame after frame.
While some detectives hauled out evidence such as flat screen televisions and shotguns, others threw strikes, gutter balls and worked on picking up spares.
A Polk County sheriff's detective cataloging evidence repeatedly put down her work and picked up a Wii remote to bowl. When she hit two strikes in a row, she raised her arms above her head, jumping and kicking.
While a female detective lifted a nearby couch looking for evidence, another sheriff's detective focused on pin action.
But detectives with the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the Auburndale, Lakeland and Winter Haven police departments did not know that a wireless security camera connected to a computer inside Difalco's home was recording their activity.
Assuming playing Wii didn't lead the police to discover any evidence, I don't think the defendant can get any of the evidence suppressed. And it's hard to know what the damages are in a civil suit, even assuming that there was in fact an unauthorized Wii seizure (a wee seizure, I suppose!). But c'mon, folks: Wii is for home, not work, especially when you are conducting a police raid.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.tbo.com ...
Ri-f*ing-diculous.
Looks like she should have put in the Wii fitness games instead of bowling.
I’m just happy no animals were harmed.
This is a discipline situation, not a firing situation. The officers are supposed to be professional and should be punished appropriately for not behaving professionally.
End of story.
Good luck to anyone prosecuting this case.
No problem prosecuting the case. The evidence will not be supressed and the bad behavior by the cops is irrelevant to the criminal case and would not be allowed before a jury.
Nice crystal ball you have. I’ve seen cases thrown out for cop stupidity for much less than this.
Hell yeah it does. Even if the guy was a drug dealer. You don’t have a right to take his property for your personal use.
Takings clause. 4th and 5th ammendment.
they should bring a Wii Donut Shop.
Not unexpected, give some guys a gun, a badge and a war on citizens rights and it is only a matter of time before they believe they are godlike.
Yeah, I remember the cops watching x rated video of me and my girlfriend on my computer, commenting on my music selection, and carting off anything not tied down. All while I was handcuffed on the couch. 6 grams of pot cost me 6,000 dollars. Recognize what the war on drugs is. A war on your rights as a citizen.
Third Amendment to the United States Constitution - part of the Bill of Rights. It prevents the government from quartering soldiers in civilian’s homes during peace time without the consent of the civilian.
Oh brother. Take a hike, Escobar. Your drug dealing client got nailed yet again.
I guess you could say he got his Wii Wii wacked :-)
And they didn't seize it. They played it. The dumbass dealer's atty is trying to say playing it equates to unlawful search/seizure.
Didn’t think of that one.
Why is:
1. theft of public property.
2. tresspass under the color of law.
3. theft of private property under the color of law.
all of which I can see on the clip
4. and surely lying on official documents. [Which I am admittedly conjecturing]
not each firing offenses?
Did those people in the clip not steal their time the public was paying for? Did those people in the clip not tresspass warrant or no warrant when they were on someone’s private property not pursuant the warrant? Did those people in the clip not steal property under the color of law when they took their wii out for a “joy ride.” And for my conjecture, do you really think this behavior was documented in the paper work on evidence seized?
I see each of those crimes as earning someone a boot from their job. Now I will grant you if it was just theft of state resources from loafing on the job, I might give them a warning, though given the huge amount of power they have and the little they can be monitored on away from the office, you must be able to trust them absolutely. Would you trust these clowns in your neighborhood going into peoples houses with a warrant. I doubt I would if this were my town.
Were I on a jury, I’d be unimpressed with the police, but it would not affect my decision as to whether the defendants were guilty or not. They weren’t taped planting evidence or prejudicing witnesses.
Cold consolation to the homeowner, but he could probably sue the officers for doing that and get a few bucks. (He’ll need it for lawyers.)
“While some detectives hauled out evidence such as flat screen televisions and shotguns, others threw strikes, gutter balls and worked on picking up spares.”
I wonder what evidence flat screen televisions would provide.
In defense of the cops-wii bowling is excellent.
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.