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W.D.Okla.: Officer's stepping into house here after detaining one outside was reasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

In a rapidly evolving situation involving a combative detainee outside, the officer’s actions in stepping over the threshold of the house here was reasonable. United States v. Coulter, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117232 (W.D. Okla. November 3, 2010)*: The issue then becomes whether Officer Williams acted illegally when he followed Ms. Silva to the house and, without a warrant, stepped across the threshold. Although a close question, the court concludes that under the facts of this case, he acted reasonably and did not violate defendant's Fourth Amendment rights. At the point when the detective entered the house, the officers were unaware of the reasons why defendant had reacted negatively to them and their vehicle. They also lacked any information about defendant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 08, 2010 (boomark / email).