Police Enter Home and Search Without Permission/Warrant

Dr. Max Stone submitted the following story which took place in Imperial Beach, California.

On October 7, 2012 my wife and I had an argument while cleaning the house up and moving furniture, just before midnight. Due to our arguing and the racket from moving furniture, our neighbors downstairs called 911 and said we were fighting. Four Sheriffs showed up at my door about 10 minutes later. When they came to the door I was greeted by a Sgt F Passacacqua. She informed me that there was a report that we were arguing. I asked her if that was illegal and if I was under arrest. She said no, but requested that she come in the house to check on my wife. I said, “No, but I will get her for you.”

My wife came out and agreed that we were simply arguing but no one was hurt. She noticed that we had a playpen for the baby in the living room, so she said she needed to see the kids, which were sleeping. I told them, “I do not want you entering my home, you are not allowed to and you are not welcome.” She ignored this and pushed her way through; all other officers followed. Although they said they needed to come in to check the kids, instead they took flashlights and searched all over the house in areas that made no sense – even after they saw the kids sleeping on their beds.

I saw deputies investigating my computer desk, my kitchen and our master bedroom. The kids were sound asleep in their own rooms (obviously the kids slept through our arguing, so it couldn’t have been that bad). Also, I run my house japanese style, my kids play on the carpet sometimes, I make all guests take of shoes. Since she forced herself in (Sgt F Passacacqua), my wife made it clear that in this house you have to take of your shoes. One deputy asked me if I heard of OJ, and told me that they have to come in because OJ argued and later killed his wife (touchy subject but he did receive a not guilty verdict, so from a legal perspective the officers point made no sense).

Who knows what poison is on the heavy boot of a deputy investigating crime scenes all day. There could be blood, drugs, dirt and other unwanted contaminants left on our carpet. In addition, we found our cell phone broken on the floor after they left as if someone had stepped on it, someone that was wearing a heavy boot. I asked the Sgt for the badge number and her name as well as the rest of the deputies. She would not give me badge numbers, only first initial and last name of each deputy and sgt.

I feel like these police had no right to search my premises on the basis that we were arguing and they needed to check the kids. They found nothing because we have nothing to hide, yet they searched the surfaces and underneath areas of our entire apartment complex during their ‘child safety check.’

The sheriff names provided were:
Sgt F Passacacqua (she said she was the supervisor; she initiated the entering of my home)
Deputy J Garay
Deputy J Jackson
Dep A Elmone

Police Enter Home and Search Without Permission/Warrant is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights