I have often advised people to simply not talk to the police without an attorney present. I have seen enough cases where people have been tricked into giving inconsistent statements and inadvertently offer corroborating evidence, while innocent people have been coerced into false confessions.
Strangely, back in the fall an incident occurred in my personal life where I didn’t follow my own advice. It was a Saturday evening and I was lying on the couch with my daughter watching a movie, when a knock came at the door.
At night, it was a surprise that anyone would be knocking unannounced at the door. My niece, who was visiting, asked who it was, and when learning it was the police, she beckoned to me to handle it.
I opened the door to find three Davis police officers. “Mr. Greenwald,” one of them said, “we need to talk to you.”
At this point my stomach goes into knots and my brain starts firing on all cylinders, wondering what in the world they could need to speak with me about. I asked what this is about, and the officer asked me if I wanted to talk about this here or go inside.
Now, all of the rules state, you should never let an officer inside your home. In fact, you are supposed to only open the door far enough for them to talk to you. Why? Because they need a search warrant to search your home but if you let them in, anything they spy in plain sight is a valid search.
Of course, I’m not thinking about that. I’m thinking that I didn’t do anything and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they would want. In retrospect, it was probably a mistake to let them in, but at the same time, it worked out okay.
So they came in, my entire family was downstairs and everyone had now gone from relaxing Saturday evening mode to on edge.
The officer informed me that someone called concerned about the bruises on my daughter. At that point, all nervousness left. I knew what this was about and I knew what had happened. I pointed to my then two-year-old nephew and stated, there is your culprit. He hit my daughter in the face with his sippy cup.
That the police were even called on this matter is messed up. My daughter had been at the city recreational gym by the pool across the way from city hall. One of the employees must have seen the bruise – a very thin line on her face – and thinking that his/her duty as a mandated reporter was to call the police, did so.
Why would they do that rather than asking us what happened? No idea, but I understand city employees were given some additional training on mandate reporting after we complained.
The officer checked out my daughter, saw the superficial bruise on her face and none anywhere else (which, given my daughter’s proclivity to use anything in the world as gym equipment, was a small miracle in and of itself), the sleepy child was a bit confused but no worse for the wear.
The officers, realizing that there was nothing to see here, quickly remedied the situation by getting the two little kids stickers and a stuffed animal. They apologized for interrupting our evening and went about their way.
The oddity of three officers on the call aside, I can’t fault the conduct of the police that night.
As almost every website I have found indicates – I did this wrong by the book. First, under the Fourth Amendment, police are required to get a signed search warrant to legally enter and search someone’s home. Now I did not – and would not have given them an okay to do a search, but allowing them in allows them to see anything that is out in the open or plain view.
Flex Your Rights tells you plainly, “Don’t let them inside.”
They write, “If you’re concerned they might try to force an entry, you may greet them outside after exiting through another door. You may speak with officers through the opening protected by your chain lock. If police come to your door and you don’t require their help, you may simply decline to answer the door at all. Unless they have a warrant, they will eventually leave.”
Also, I failed in not determining the reason for the visit before letting them in. Flex Your Rights notes, “While you might not be pleased to have police at your door, it’s wise to treat them as you would any other unexpected visitor. Calmly and respectfully ask, “How can I help you?”
“In many cases, an officer’s visit will have little to do with you or be something you can easily fix. For example, an officer may be seeking information about a crime committed in your neighborhood. Or she might be responding to a noise complaint. If so, it’s wise to apologize for the inconvenience, then turn down the music or bring in your barking dog from the backyard.”
They continue, “In other instances, an officer might want to investigate activities taking place in your home and ask to enter. You might even be a suspect in a criminal investigation. In such a case you should remain silent — except to say “Officer, I can’t let you inside without a search warrant.” Following such an encounter, you should immediately contact a lawyer before speaking to police again.”
The ACLU, on their page, notes, “If the police or immigration agents come to your home, you do not have to let them in unless they have certain kinds of warrants.
“Ask the officer to slip the warrant under the door or hold it up to the window so you can inspect it. A search warrant allows police to enter the address listed on the warrant, but officers can only search the areas and for the items listed. An arrest warrant allows police to enter the home of the person listed on the warrant if they believe the person is inside. A warrant of removal/deportation (ICE warrant) does not allow officers to enter a home without consent.
“Even if officers have a warrant, you have the right to remain silent. If you choose to speak to the officers, step outside and close the door.”
Here is where for me it gets tricky. My instinct was that handling the matter upfront was the best and quickest way to resolve the matter. Though I have the right to remain silent, there is a possibility that being uncooperative would be viewed through an air of suspicion and at the very least would have prolonged the incident longer than it needed to be prolonged.
I knew I not only hadn’t done anything wrong but that there was nothing that they were going to find in the home other than a cluttered mess.
Still, we have seen enough innocent people arrested and even convicted that we should not be nearly so careless. At a certain point I would have needed to cut off the discussion and request a meeting with the presence of an attorney. I was quite fortunate that this never needed to happen.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
one thing missing here is the acknowledgement that someone who knows their rights and is well-versed with them is less likely to get into trouble when you haven’t done anything that breaks the law. if you know to stop talking when the accusations move toward you, you’re probably safer to try to deflect at the lowest level and earliest stage possible.
one thing missing here is the acknowledgement that someone who knows their rights and is well-versed with them is less likely to get into trouble when you haven’t done anything that breaks the law. if you know to stop talking when the accusations move toward you, you’re probably safer to try to deflect at the lowest level and earliest stage possible.
Thank you for this posting, David. I will check out Flex Your Rights. It’s my opinion the police in Davis are bored and overpaid. I know they spend copious amounts of time parked in the Sterling parking lot at the north end of the greenbelt on Anderson.
Thank you for this posting, David. I will check out Flex Your Rights. It’s my opinion the police in Davis are bored and overpaid. I know they spend copious amounts of time parked in the Sterling parking lot at the north end of the greenbelt on Anderson.
David–you make some good points here. Though I generally support the police, I would also be wary of inviting officers into my home; because once in I would have no idea what they were going to do, and I guess would be powerless to prevent them from disruptively ransacking my house if they wanted to do a search (I would not agree to a search without a warrant; but as I understand it once they are inside they can turn your house upsidedown without a warrant; furthermore they are not obligated to clean up any mess they make!)
On the other hand; can’t they also arrest you on suspicion if you step outside your house but on your property; without a warrant? Whereas if you are inside your house, they will need a warrant to break in and arrest you.
The worst part is they have no obligation to inform you of their intent to do a search or arrest you ahead of time (i.e. before you agree to let them enter your home or to talk with them outside); what a rude shock!
” I understand it once they are inside they can turn your house upsidedown without a warrant”
they cannot. they can only see things in plain view and act on them. but if they found a pipe with marijuana residue on your coffee table, it would not be hard to get a quick warrant to search the rest of the house. that is the danger.
and you say, well i have nothing to hide – ala david – maybe. but who’s to say someone else didn’t leave something there or the cops were having a bad day, or any number of scenarios… why take the chance?
or if they find a laptop in your home
if you are on a weight loss program and you are weighing your portions, beware if you leave your fancy scale on your kitchen counter top. might be better to buy a less fancy scale.
DP–that’s good news that at least they can’t ransack your house without a warrant (guess I’ve seen a few hollywood movies where they seem to do this without a warrant).
David–you make some good points here. Though I generally support the police, I would also be wary of inviting officers into my home; because once in I would have no idea what they were going to do, and I guess would be powerless to prevent them from disruptively ransacking my house if they wanted to do a search (I would not agree to a search without a warrant; but as I understand it once they are inside they can turn your house upsidedown without a warrant; furthermore they are not obligated to clean up any mess they make!)
On the other hand; can’t they also arrest you on suspicion if you step outside your house but on your property; without a warrant? Whereas if you are inside your house, they will need a warrant to break in and arrest you.
The worst part is they have no obligation to inform you of their intent to do a search or arrest you ahead of time (i.e. before you agree to let them enter your home or to talk with them outside); what a rude shock!
” I understand it once they are inside they can turn your house upsidedown without a warrant”
they cannot. they can only see things in plain view and act on them. but if they found a pipe with marijuana residue on your coffee table, it would not be hard to get a quick warrant to search the rest of the house. that is the danger.
and you say, well i have nothing to hide – ala david – maybe. but who’s to say someone else didn’t leave something there or the cops were having a bad day, or any number of scenarios… why take the chance?
or if they find a laptop in your home
if you are on a weight loss program and you are weighing your portions, beware if you leave your fancy scale on your kitchen counter top. might be better to buy a less fancy scale.
DP–that’s good news that at least they can’t ransack your house without a warrant (guess I’ve seen a few hollywood movies where they seem to do this without a warrant).
“Why would they do that rather than asking us what happened? ”
As a mandated reporter, I think I can give you some insight into this. The most dramatic example from my career played out as follows. A long term patient of mine came into my clinic with her five-year old daughter and her three year old son. The boy had a significant cut and bruise over one of his eyes. Without really thinking about it, I asked him “what happened” thinking he would say I fell, or “got a boo boo”. What he said stunned me. He took his hand, hit himself in the face and clearly said “Daddy”!
The patient tried to pass this off saying “He always says that ” and making up several inconsistent stories in rapid succession.
Needless to say, I reported.
I don’t know the outcome other than that an investigation took place. She never came back to see me.
Prior to this I had never had any cause to suspect that anything might be going on of an abusive nature with this family. The take home lesson for me was that I have no expertise in discerning level of risk of domestic violence and that if in doubt, this is best left to experts.
your situation strikes me as a bit different. you asked the kid what happened, it only became suspicious when the kid told you flat out his father did it and the mother did not give a good enough explanation to the contrary. are you really going to call the authorities every time you see a kid with a cut or bruise? i would hope not.
DP
I admit that it is a hard call. I am sure that the police officer that left the 5 year old who was drowned by her mother in her mother’s care now wishes that her “index of suspicion” had been higher.
There is no easy answer to this and I agree that there are differences in the two examples.
However, as a practitioner, I would rather that if in doubt, the error be made on the side of safety.
There are days I bet your job is really difficult.
D.D.
More than compensated for by the days that are truly wonderful !
We took my young son to his grandmother’s memorial. She’s buried at one of the California missions. I stared at one of the headstones & lamented, “Look, this one was just a baby. How sad.”
My son went back to daycare & told everyone he went somewhere where babies were buried in the backyard. Oh, yeah, we had a lengthy parent teacher conference over that one! Unfortunately, it wasn’t until several years later, visiting Mission San Luis Rey again, that I made the connection!
“Why would they do that rather than asking us what happened? ”
As a mandated reporter, I think I can give you some insight into this. The most dramatic example from my career played out as follows. A long term patient of mine came into my clinic with her five-year old daughter and her three year old son. The boy had a significant cut and bruise over one of his eyes. Without really thinking about it, I asked him “what happened” thinking he would say I fell, or “got a boo boo”. What he said stunned me. He took his hand, hit himself in the face and clearly said “Daddy”!
The patient tried to pass this off saying “He always says that ” and making up several inconsistent stories in rapid succession.
Needless to say, I reported.
I don’t know the outcome other than that an investigation took place. She never came back to see me.
Prior to this I had never had any cause to suspect that anything might be going on of an abusive nature with this family. The take home lesson for me was that I have no expertise in discerning level of risk of domestic violence and that if in doubt, this is best left to experts.
your situation strikes me as a bit different. you asked the kid what happened, it only became suspicious when the kid told you flat out his father did it and the mother did not give a good enough explanation to the contrary. are you really going to call the authorities every time you see a kid with a cut or bruise? i would hope not.
DP
I admit that it is a hard call. I am sure that the police officer that left the 5 year old who was drowned by her mother in her mother’s care now wishes that her “index of suspicion” had been higher.
There is no easy answer to this and I agree that there are differences in the two examples.
However, as a practitioner, I would rather that if in doubt, the error be made on the side of safety.
There are days I bet your job is really difficult.
D.D.
More than compensated for by the days that are truly wonderful !
We took my young son to his grandmother’s memorial. She’s buried at one of the California missions. I stared at one of the headstones & lamented, “Look, this one was just a baby. How sad.”
My son went back to daycare & told everyone he went somewhere where babies were buried in the backyard. Oh, yeah, we had a lengthy parent teacher conference over that one! Unfortunately, it wasn’t until several years later, visiting Mission San Luis Rey again, that I made the connection!
Thanks, David for a very informative post. I have passed on the Flex Your Rights website to all my friends with teenage children. Unfortunately, these rights are not well known to young adults at all.
Thanks, David for a very informative post. I have passed on the Flex Your Rights website to all my friends with teenage children. Unfortunately, these rights are not well known to young adults at all.
“Now, all of the rules state, you should never let an officer inside your home. In fact, you are supposed to only open the door far enough for them to talk to you. Why? Because they need a search warrant to search your home but if you let them in, anything they spy in plain sight is a valid search.”
Many years have passed and I still regret speaking to the Dixon police without a lawyer present. Those police broke a little piece of my heart, with their lies. I hope someday I can fully, completely, unabashedly trust cops again. I really want that day to come. For now, I procede with extreme caution and a healthy dose of mis-trust.
“Now, all of the rules state, you should never let an officer inside your home. In fact, you are supposed to only open the door far enough for them to talk to you. Why? Because they need a search warrant to search your home but if you let them in, anything they spy in plain sight is a valid search.”
Many years have passed and I still regret speaking to the Dixon police without a lawyer present. Those police broke a little piece of my heart, with their lies. I hope someday I can fully, completely, unabashedly trust cops again. I really want that day to come. For now, I procede with extreme caution and a healthy dose of mis-trust.
If anyone falters and invites a cop into your home, offer them an iced tea or a cup of coffee. Try to make them see you are really, really trying to be civil to them and they will treat you a little nicer because a part of them also wants to be a decent human being.
If anyone falters and invites a cop into your home, offer them an iced tea or a cup of coffee. Try to make them see you are really, really trying to be civil to them and they will treat you a little nicer because a part of them also wants to be a decent human being.
In Davis, many people share rented rooms in a home. I have heard legal rumors that if you are renting a room in a home, and your roommate is on probation, and your room has a lock on it, if the cops do a probation check, the cops cannot search your rented bedrrom.
I call this a “legal rumor” because there are different scenario’s and it is rather complicated. Hope this helps a little, if anyone is ever dealing with a roommate on probation.
*housemate*, not roommate
In Davis, many people share rented rooms in a home. I have heard legal rumors that if you are renting a room in a home, and your roommate is on probation, and your room has a lock on it, if the cops do a probation check, the cops cannot search your rented bedrrom.
I call this a “legal rumor” because there are different scenario’s and it is rather complicated. Hope this helps a little, if anyone is ever dealing with a roommate on probation.
*housemate*, not roommate
Dear David,
I’ve pondered your situation and come to the conclusion that for the sake of our next generation in your home, you did the right thing. Do we really want to set the example to our next generation that every single man and woman in uniform is a bully and you should never let them into your living room?
My daughter had at least two interactions in the past four years in San Francisco that worked out fine but put her at safety risk. She did not call 911 either time. I’m anxious to even write this, fearful that police will now visit her to find our why she didn’t call them and try to arrest her for not reporting a crime in progress.
(Is it a law you must call police if you witness a crime in progress? I don’t know.)I’m still that afraid of the cops. My daughter is a big strong young woman and it all worked out fine. But it makes me sad she does not trust that the cops can do their jobs.
So, for the sake of the next generation in your home on that Saturday evening, you did the right thing, IMHO. And if any cop tries to question my daughter now, several years have passed and she will not remember the details of the two events in San Francisco that put her in harm’s way, so you are wasting your time. And I am starting to forget the details, too.
Dear David,
I’ve pondered your situation and come to the conclusion that for the sake of our next generation in your home, you did the right thing. Do we really want to set the example to our next generation that every single man and woman in uniform is a bully and you should never let them into your living room?
My daughter had at least two interactions in the past four years in San Francisco that worked out fine but put her at safety risk. She did not call 911 either time. I’m anxious to even write this, fearful that police will now visit her to find our why she didn’t call them and try to arrest her for not reporting a crime in progress.
(Is it a law you must call police if you witness a crime in progress? I don’t know.)I’m still that afraid of the cops. My daughter is a big strong young woman and it all worked out fine. But it makes me sad she does not trust that the cops can do their jobs.
So, for the sake of the next generation in your home on that Saturday evening, you did the right thing, IMHO. And if any cop tries to question my daughter now, several years have passed and she will not remember the details of the two events in San Francisco that put her in harm’s way, so you are wasting your time. And I am starting to forget the details, too.