Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews
I recently read an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer; it was called “These Are Your Rights if the Police Knock at Your Door.” Unfortunately, it offered a lot of advice from the ACLU (Americans Civil Liberties Union.) That organization tends to be very anti-police and in favor of the individual’s right to speech. I’m very much in favor of the First Amendment – tempered with common sense.
Please allow me to start with a personal narrative. Early one morning there was a bang at my front door. It wasn’t a tap. It wasn’t a knock. It was a bang. I looked out the living room window and saw a man wearing camo with his hands around his eyes looking into the house. This was strange but I still had to answer the door.
When I opened the inner door I found another man, also in camo. He had already opened the storm door, so I guess this gave him the right to enter, at least in his mind. He explained that he was (his name) and he was in charge of the Camden County Warrant Unit. He was looking for several people whose names he gave me. I didn’t know any of them. Long story short, many years ago my house had been used for AA meetings. When in need of a permanent address many of the members gave my address. The officer was very polite and so was I. I could have, and should have, asked for his warrant to enter my house but he was already inside. He asked if his men could “look around” and I gave my permission. Did I know he had eight men who would enter my house? Add one man guarding the front door, another guarding the back door, and the leader. There were 11 men in camo with guns in and around my house.
The only purpose I have in telling that story is to explain that I know what it is like to have the police bang (not knock) on your front door unexpectedly. So, what do you do?
Be polite! The police have a hard job to do and take a lot of verbal abuse from a lot of people. Yes, the First Amendment gives you the right (and the ACLU permits you) to say anything you want, but why? You are not gaining anything and you are making matters worse. You also have the right to read the warrant before allowing the police into your house.
Can the police arrest you for something which isn’t included in the warrant? The answer is YES. In a law course I took in graduate school we were told that if the police have a warrant for a stolen piano and inside the piano they find illegal drugs, they can arrest you for the drugs as well as the piano. The other side of the coin is if the police are looking for a stolen piano and they find drugs in a drawer, you cannot be arrested for the drugs because it is not reasonable to look for a piano inside a drawer.
Can the police arrest you for anything else they find in the house? The answer is YES, so long as what they see is in plain sight. So, if you have anything illegal in the house don’t leave it in plain sight. Hide anything you shouldn’t have.
Can the police enter your house without a warrant? The answer is MAYBE. There is something called exigent circumstances. That means that there is an emergency and the police feel that someone’s life could be in danger if they don’t enter. If the police hear someone screaming for help, they see a trail of blood, or maybe hear a gunshot they can enter without a warrant. Keep this in mind – if the police have a warrant and you do not let them in, they have the right to break into your house.
What if you are stopped on the road? People often try to use the Fifth Amendment (“you have the right to remain silent…”) as an excuse to not show identification to the officer. Don’t bother, you don’t have that right. A few years back the United States Supreme Court ruled that showing your identification is not self-incrimination and the officer’s right to safety outweighs the driver’s right to privacy. If asked for ID, show it.
As an aside, for your safety and especially for women – if an officer in a marked car wants to pull you over you must acknowledge the officer’s presence but you do not have to pull over until you find a safe, well-lighted place. If you are stopped by someone in an unmarked car, call 911 and ask to have a marked car come out to you.