Cops entering homes without a warrant.

[L Mac-a-docious]

I've noticed that just recently two state supreme courts, Utah and CA, have made rulings giving the police more freedom to enter houses without a warrant. In Utah, they granted police the right to enter a house without a warrant, "anytime they believe someone inside has been seriously injured or is about to be hurt." This stemming from an incident when police were called to a party, and entered the house to stop a fight inside.

In Cali, the supreme court handed down a decision stating that "Police can enter the home of a drunken driving suspect without a warrant in certain cases to conduct a blood alcohol test and make an arrest."
This stemming from an incident in Santa Barbara when a man who was suspected of driving drunk by a samaritan was followed home by said samaritan, who then called the police. When the police arrived at the mans house, they were not given permission to enter by the mans housemate. Realizing that his blood alcohol level may not be sufficient for an arrest if they waited for the proper warrant, tthey entered the house, and administered the breathalizer test, and arrested the man.

I realize on the surface these cases may seem innocuous enough, and that people would say the police did the right thing, and so on and so forth, but, I get a very uneasy feeling from cases and decisions like these. It seems like the first step down that slippery slope. Anyone else hear or read about these cases? Comments?
I read both articles in the SF Chronicle, sorry, no links.

 

[decisive]

wow fuck that no. not even. fuck that

 

[EDJ]

IT'S THAT POST 9-11 MENTALITY OF PARANOIA. THEY JUST KEEP TAKIN' MORE RIgHTS AWAY.

 

[RasputinOnOne]

it really dont matter...all this is doing is allowing them to come in and help you if you need it...or to apprhend a drunk driver...put it like this...anything they see/find can't be used in court, they dont have a warrent to search shit...but it will give them a chance to get one asap, but you'd hav time to get rid of evidence...

 

[EDJ]

^DON'T DEFEND THEM. IS YOUR DADDY THE LIEUTENANT?

 

[BigE916WRM]

My pops was a Sarge, but he wont even defend most of todays law enforcement. It really doesnt matter much though, if they want to come in they will make up a reason why and it will stick in court. When I got my felony they asked me a bunch of yes or no questions. I gave them my name, birthdate,SSN,address,DL #. But once I saw the report all of those yes or no questions had answers to them and I was done. My word against theirs. Just like with probable cause when they pull you over, they can say they smelled weed in the car and search it.

 

[Af1AcurA]

Unfourtunately America is slowly heading towards becoming a police state. "A police state is an authoritarian state which uses the police, especially secret police, to maintain and enforce political power, often through violent or arbitrary means. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism or other harsh means of social control. In a police state the police are not subject to the rule of law and there is no meaningful distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive"

 

[EDJ]

^THE STREETS BEEN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. AND IT'S JUST gETTIN' WORSE.

 

[:ab:]

yeah, we HAD freedoms that we took for granted, and as the bush administration goes, we are coming closer and closer to losing all of our privacy.....Anyone hear that they want to keep a record of internet usage as well? we're fucked if we don't do anything

 

[surcaliman]

and thats why u see fools busting shots at cops everyday on the news.people wont put up with that kinda shit...speaking of wich,this happened here in L.A.yesterday.......Kristina Ripatti and Tim Pearce joined the Los Angeles Police Department a decade ago, fell in love on the job, married, and went on to become patrol officers in adjacent South Bureau divisions.

On Sunday, Pearce was at his wife's side in a downtown hospital room where she was listed in serious but stable condition after being shot in the chest by a robbery suspect.


Thirteen hours earlier, Pearce had been among the first officers to arrive at the scene of a shooting at La Salle and Leighton avenues, near USC, where a team of officers was struggling to keep Ripatti, 33, alive.

The suspect, 52-year-old James Fenton McNeal, a career criminal who had served multiple prison terms for crimes, including armed robbery and murder, was shot by Ripatti's partner and died at the scene.

At a news conference in the lobby of California Medical Center, Police Chief William J. Bratton said, "THIS HAS BEEN THE LATEST IN AN UNFORTUNATE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF UNPROVOKED SHOOTINGS AT OUR OFFICERS IN RECENT WEEKS."

In response to a question at the news conference, Bratton denied that officers had improperly treated McNeal after he was shot.

"I'm extraordinarily comfortable with the actions of our officers last night," Bratton said. "This involved an unprovoked shooting of an officer who did not even have her weapon out of her holster.

"What we do oftentimes is not pretty, but it's lawful," he added. "The violence in these streets is not pretty. The unprovoked shooting of an officer is not pretty."

It was not clear whether Ripatti's husband was among the officers who confronted McNeal.

The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m., shortly after McNeal ran across the street directly in front of Ripatti's marked patrol car.

"They had to brake sharply to keep from hitting him," Bratton said.

The officers left their vehicle and followed the suspect, who reached the front porch of a nearby residence, turned and fired five rounds from a .22-caliber handgun.