when can the police legally forcibly enter your home?

[datasuspect]

do they need probable cause/a warrant?

can they kick a door in on a complaint?

[Lord_StarFyre]

1. Where?

...Well, Anywhere in the US.

Probable Cause can be used fairly easily these days.

"Yes, we had Probable Cause to believe the suspects inside the home were planning some sort of terraism, so we arrested them for their own protection"

[datasuspect]

2. this happened in an inner ring suburb of chicago

about 7 or 8 cops, guns drawn, shock troop style.

this did NOT involve any felony activity.

[Lord_StarFyre]

4. Welome to Bush's America

...a new and "improved" Reich...

[jobycom]

7. Yeah, cops can do that

If they can show some probable cause, they can do it. A complaint from a neighbor that they heard a scream would be enough.

Cops have a saying: You can avoid the time, but you might not avoid the ride. What they mean is, a lot of things might not hold up in court, but they can still arrest you and take you into custody. So if they have some excuse, they can kick in the door and arrest who they want. If a judge decides the probable cause was insufficient, you go free, but they don't get punished, usually. Of course, they do have to fear lawsuits, thank goodness, so they do have to have something to base the PC on.

This is based mostly on my friendship with some cops, not on my knowledge of the law. So take that for what it's worth.

[datasuspect]

8. i can understand that

but what i cannot wrap my head around is how the one officer pulled behind the middle school and kicked and beat my handcuffed brother who was in the backseat.

then, when they got to the police station, they pulled him out and about 5-6 cops beat my brother unconscious.

it was bad enough for them to take him to the ER.

the ER discharge report states something like: "injuries sustained due to altercation/assault."

they only handcuffed me, but they tossed around among themselves what charge they could trump up to take me in on.

[jobycom]

9. Well, that they aren't supposed to do

BTW, I wasn't saying they should be able to kick in your door, only that they are allowed. The law doesn't often punish cops for misuse of PC, they just dismiss the case. I think there should be penalties on the cops.

As for what you are describing, they can't do that under any justification. Proving it would be difficult, though. they will say your brother was injured in a fight, and then handcuffed. Even if they were caught on tape, as we've seen, they would have some story to explain it.

If this was very recent, I hope you've spoken to an attorney. Also--just speculating here--your brother should have someone photgraph his wrists. If he was beaten with handcuffs on, that may have caused some type of bruising that could be identified. I'm not sure how, but any photos and doctors' reports you can get could help your case. Contact a lawyer quickly, let them know whether you can pay them, etc. They may take the case, or refer you to someone who would. The first thing is getting a suit filed and a complaint filed, so they can't destroy any evidence.

What caused them to arrest you? You can keep the specifics to yourself, if you want, I just mean, did they get a call from a neighbor, or a 911 call, or were they passing your house? Whatever their story, they have to have some proof that it's true. A lot of times a cop will make up an excuse just because they are playing a hunch. I know of a famous arrest in Austin where the cops pulled someone over for failure to use a blinker, and discovered a gun in his possession, and arrested him. This led later to a well-publicized militia siege in west Texas. The thing was, the blinker story was just their cover. The truth was that they had a tip that the man was carrying a gun, and made up the blinker to pull him over to bust him for the gun. Another story (this is a rumor, I don't have inside info on this one) was that when Matthew McCounehy was busted for bongoing and smoking pot, the police claimed they had received a complaint call about another residence, and just got the address wrong. What the rumor says is that a cop was just driving by the house, saw the door open, walked in, and caught Matt lighting up. They made up the "wrong address" story. (I'm not sure that's true, I am sure about the weapons story). My point is, cops make up a lot of stories to cover sources or to cover their own hunches, figuring no one will check that, especially if a crime was committed (Matthew would have been an idiot to push the issue, for instance, and wind up with more serious charges and a drawn out trial). Make them prove that their PC was justifiable.

Just some thoughts. Again, I'm not a lawyer. You should contact one, of this is a recent event.

[Historic NY]

3. Its called a no knock warrant.........

must have pc.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Whenever they want to

taser you. :)

[Floogeldy]

6. Every case is fact specific . . .

A warrant is generally required, but there are "exigencies."

And the cops will usually lie to try to prove the exigencies.