5.100 Search and Seizure

Question 1

What does the 4th Amendment protect?

Answer 1

An expectation of privacy that must be both reasonable and legitimate.

Question 2

Define abandonment in legal terms.

Answer 2

Objective words or actions that clearly show a person has disclaimed OWNERSHIP, DIMINION AND CONTROL over real or personal property.

Question 3

What is the community caretaking doctrine?

Answer 3

An exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement based on the public’s expectation that LAW ENFORCEMENT MAY TAKE ACTION TO SAVE LIFE OR RENDER AID.

Question 4

Define community caretaking search.

Answer 4

A NON-CRIMINAL ENCOUNTER with a citizen or vehicle intended for law enforcement to investigate a SERIOUS MEDICAL CONCERN OR OTHER LIFE SAFETY ISSUES.

Question 5

What does consent entail in a legal context?

Answer 5

Agreement, approval, or permission to act, requiring that a person is informed, not coerced, has authority, and can revoke consent.

Question 6

What is curtilage?

Answer 6

Area(s) near a residence where residents have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Question 7

What is the emergency aid exception?

Answer 7

A warrantless entry into a home when an emergency exists and there is a need to render aid or protect an individual from immediate harm from themselves or others.

Question 8

Define exigent circumstance.

Answer 8

A time-critical exception to the search warrant requirement for acting on an investigative emergency based on probable cause for a criminal investigation.

Police cannot create the exigent circumstance or use a ruse to affect a warrantless search.

Question 9

What is fresh pursuit?

Answer 9

Occurs when there is probable cause that a person wanted for a serious felony is inside a home and about to flee.

Question 10

What is hot pursuit?

Answer 10

A sub-category of “exigent circumstances” allowing entry into a structure when there is probable cause to believe a dangerous person has committed a serious felony.

The suspect is fleeing from law enforcement and the officer has direct knowledge of the suspect’s location. (Not to be confused with fresh pursuit.)

Question 11

Define investigative detention.

Answer 11

A reasonable suspicion stop, also known as a ‘Terry stop,’ seizing a person for no more than 60 minutes for investigation.
Allows an officer to ascertain a persons IDENTITY and PURPOSE.

Question 12

What is open view?

Answer 12

What a person knowingly exposes to the public, not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

Question 13

What is personal property inventory?

Answer 13

For officer and institutional safety, items that are transported to a detention facility as personal property will be thoroughly searched prior to entering the detention facility.

Contraband will be removed and documented on a Property Report by the arresting/transporting officer. Non-contraband items will be transferred to detention personnel for safekeeping and completion of the inventory documentation.

Question 14

Define plain view.

Answer 14

An exception to the search warrant requirement that must satisfy these conditions:
(1) the officer must be in a position where there is a legal right to be;
(2) the items must be immediately recognizable as contraband or evidence; and
(3) the seizure must be made without substantial additional intrusion.

Question 15

What constitutes a seizure?

Answer 15

Police interference with an individual’s freedom of movement or possessory interests in property.

Question 16

What are the exceptions to the fourth amendment related to criminal investigations where the Fourth Amendment does not apply?

Answer 16

NOADAPT: Open view; No standing; Trash searches outside curtilage; Detention facilities; Abandoned property; Searches by private citizens not acting as government agents.

Question 17

Is warrantless entry into a residence permitted under the Community Caretaking Doctrine?

Answer 17

No, officers need to articulate the need for an emergency aid exception.

Question 18

What is the intent of LVMPD regarding welfare checks?

Answer 18

To conduct thorough checks to determine if there is a need for life-saving assistance.

Question 19

What must officers do if they damage property during welfare checks?

Answer 19

Complete an Officer’s Report and take photographs of the damage.

Question 20

What are the three levels of police interaction for criminal investigation?

Answer 20

Consensual encounter
Investigative detention (Terry stop)
Arrest

Question 21

What are the requirements for a consensual encounter?

Answer 21

No legal justification
Person must feel free to leave
Freedom of movement cannot be impeded
A person who has engaged in a consensual encounter may revoke consent at any time.

Question 22

What can cause a consensual encounter to become an investigative detention?

Answer 22

If an officer articulates specific facts demonstrating reasonable suspicion.

Question 23

What are the key aspects of investigative detentions?

Answer 23

Reasonable suspicion
Limited scope and purpose
No more than 60 minutes

Can ascertain identity & purpose

Question 24

What should officers ensure before making an entry into a residence under emergency aid exception?

Answer 24

-Ensure a preliminary investigation has been conducted.
-Determine the need for other resources (i.e., additional officers and use of a catchpole and/or animal control for potential vicious animals).
-If needed, ensure medical assistance has been requested and staged.
-Broadcast over the radio the intent to make entry into a residence.
-Notify an area sergeant before utilizing the services of a locksmith or a personal lock-picking device.

Question 25

What must an area sergeant do when notified of a warrantless entry?

Answer 25

Acknowledge the call Ensure preliminary investigation Confirm exigent circumstances Determine if the use of a locksmith or the use of an officer’s personal lock-picking device is appropriate. Ensure additional units, resources, and medical assistance have been requested if needed.

Question 26

What must happen once a person’s identity and purpose have been ascertained during a stop?

Answer 26

Detention must end, and the person must feel free to leave if no PC has been established.

Question 27

What are the two types of traffic offenses?

Answer 27

* Primary offenses * Secondary offenses

Question 28

What must officers have to conduct a traffic stop?

Answer 28

Probable cause to believe that a primary offense has been committed.

Question 29

What documentation must drivers provide during a traffic stop?

Answer 29

* Driver’s license * Registration * Proof of insurance

Question 30

What is the maximum duration for a traffic stop?

Answer 30

60 minutes.

Question 31

What actions classify a driver as an obstructive subject during a traffic stop?

Answer 31

Becoming non-compliant when asked to provide identification and/or other requested documentation.

Question 32

What are the legal justifications for officers to seize persons?

Answer 32

* Investigative detention * Vehicle stop (passenger and driver) * Arrest * Legal 2000

Question 33

What is the purpose of impounding a firearm for safekeeping?

Answer 33

For life safety or to determine ownership.

Question 34

What must be documented when a firearm is taken for safekeeping?

Answer 34

The determination to impound a firearm for safekeeping should be for life safety or to determine ownership (e.g., found firearm). The determination to impound a firearm for safekeeping will be documented and articulated in the narrative portion of the Property Report

Question 35

What is required for a consent search?

Answer 35

Consent must be freely and voluntarily given.

Question 36

What is a pat down limited to?

Answer 36

The recovery of weapons that may pose a risk to officer safety.

Question 37

What is the purpose of a personal property inventory search during arrest?

Answer 37

An inventory is not a search for evidence of a crime but is justified **to protect an owner’s property while it is in custody of the police to ensure against claims of lost or stolen property,** and **to protect the police and the community from danger.For officer and institutional safety**.

Question 38

When can field strip searches be conducted?

Answer 38

Only in rare circumstances with explicit approval of a lieutenant and presence of a supervisor.

Question 39

What must an arresting officer do when reasonable suspicion exists for a strip search?

Answer 39

Request the search by contacting a corrections supervisor and articulating the basis for suspicion.

Question 40

What is the preferred method to collect evidence for a DUI offense?

Answer 40

A voluntary breath sample.

Question 41

What is required to conduct a body cavity search?

Answer 41

A search warrant containing specific authorization.

Question 42

What are the conditions under which a motor vehicle may be searched?

Answer 42

PC Evidence in Vehicle - Consent, Vehicle is Readily Mobile, Search Pursuant to a Search Warrant No PC Evidence in Vehicle - Consent, Frisk for Officer Safety, VIN Inspection, Inventory

Question 43

Where in the vehicle may be searched when serving a search warrant on a vehicle?

Answer 43

Officers may search all areas of the vehicle including locked or unlocked containers.

Question 44

What is the purpose of an inventory search?

Answer 44

To protect an owner’s property while in police custody and ensure against claims of lost or stolen property.

Question 45

What happens if a locked container is damaged during the opening process?

Answer 45

It will be documented in CAD or in an Officer’s Report.

Question 46

What areas can officers search when serving a search warrant on a vehicle or residence?

Answer 46

When serving a search warrant, officers may search all areas of the vehicle including locked or unlocked containers **that could contain the items sought pursuant to the warrant** When serving a search warrant, officers may search all areas of the residence and vehicles, or structures contained within the curtilage of the property that could contain items sought to be seized pursuant to the search warrant. **The nature and size of the items sought to be seized will dictate where officers may search for that item (i.e., officers may not look for a bicycle in a dresser drawer, etc.)** Once all items sought to be seized have been recovered, the search must immediately cease.

Question 47

What must officers have to enter a structure for a probable cause arrest without exigent circumstances or consent?

Answer 47

Either an arrest warrant or a search warrant.

Question 48

What does the Payton Rule state regarding entering a structure?

Answer 48

Officers must have either an arrest warrant or a search warrant to enter for making a probable cause arrest.

Question 49

What is required to enter a third-party owned structure for an arrest warrant?

Answer 49

A search warrant is required with probable cause to believe the suspect is located inside. (Steagald)

Question 50

What must officers document if no Officer’s Report or DOAR is generated for consent search?

Answer 50

Document the consent given for the search in CAD.

Question 51

What is a Frisk for weapons

Answer 51

An officer who is legally present in a structure may conduct a limited protective search for weapons **in the subject’s area of immediate access.**

Question 52

What is a protective sweep?

Answer 52

A quick and limited search of premises for the safety of officers and others. It must be narrowly confined to a cursory visual inspection of those places in which a person might be hiding. An officer who is legally present in a structure may conduct a protective sweep if there is reasonable suspicion to believe there is a threat to safety from a person in the structure

Question 53

What can officers potentially seize during a protective sweep?

Answer 53

Items of an evidentiary nature inadvertently discovered under plain view.

Question 54

What is required for a warrantless entry under exigent circumstances?

Answer 54

Probable cause to justify the entry to prevent destruction of evidence or to arrest a violent suspect.

Question 55

What must happen when exigent circumstances cease?

Answer 55

The search must stop immediately.

Question 56

Can police create exigent circumstances to justify a warrantless search?

Answer 56

No.

Question 57

What are the components of a written search warrant?

Answer 57

Search warrant application and affidavit, the search warrant, search warrant return of service, sealing order, turnover order.

Question 58

What are the legal justifications for officers to seize vehicles?

Answer 58

Vehicle stop Impound Search warrant

Question 59

What are the legal justifications for officers to seize property?(5)

Answer 59

Abandoned Plain view Premises freeze (electronic storage devices) Search warrant Safekeeping (protecting an item from theft or to determine ownership)

Question 60

What are the legal justifications to seize a residence?

Answer 60

Premises freeze and Search warrant

Question 61

When can an officer conduct a warrantless search of a person?

Answer 61

Consent Search incident to lawful arrest Personal property inventory pursuant to search Incident to arrest

Question 62

When can an officer search a vehicle with or without PC?

Answer 62

P/C EVIDENCE IS CONTAINED IN VEHICLE Consent search Vehicle is readily mobile Search pursuant to a search warrant NO P/C EVIDENCE IS CONTAINED IN VEHICLE Protective frisk for officer safety Inventory Consent search VIN inspection

Question 63

When a sergeant is notified that his officers are making entry under the emergency aid exception they will...

Answer 63

Acknowledge the call over the radio and if feasible, respond to the scene. Ensure the preliminary investigation has been conducted by the officer. Confirm exigent circumstances exist to justify the need for entry under the emergency aid exception. Determine if the use of a locksmith or the use of an officer’s personal lock-picking device is appropriate. Ensure additional units, resources, and medical assistance have been requested if needed.

Question 64

If during a traffic stop a driver becomes non-compliant when asked to provide identification and/or other requested documentation with no other actions what level of resistance are they

Answer 64

Obstructive subject

Question 65

Pat Down

Answer 65

An open hand contact of a subject’s outer clothing to detect weapons on a person **or contained within items “immediately associated with a person”** (e.g., purse, backpack, etc.). The “pat down” is based on reasonable suspicion or articulable facts that the person may be armed with a dangerous weapon and is a threat to the safety of the officer.

Question 66

What are the three ways to document consent?

Answer 66

Electronically recorded Written Verbal (witness officer preffered)

Question 67

When can exigency be used to enter a residence under structure/residence searches?

Answer 67

Prevent the destruction of evidence of a serious felony offense; or Effect a warrantless arrest of a violent or dangerous suspect who officers have probable cause to believe committed a serious felony or violent offense and may escape if not immediately apprehended.

Question 68

In a PC vehicle search officers may open...

Answer 68

All locked and unlocked containers

Question 69

When can locked containers be forced open during a vehicle inventory

Answer 69

Locked containers may only be forced open with the **consent** of the owner or if the officer has a **reasonable and articulable belief** that it may contain weapons, explosives, hazardous materials, or contraband

Question 70

Frisk of a vehicle for weapons

Answer 70

Prior to allowing persons to re-enter a vehicle on a traffic or vehicle stop, an officer may conduct a frisk of the vehicle for weapons. The officer **must be able to articulate reasonable suspicion that a weapon is contained inside the vehicle. The frisk must be confined to the area of the vehicle where any person may have immediate access. The officer may only search unlocked compartments or areas where a weapon may be present. Areas not immediately accessible to the vehicle’s occupants such as a locked glove box or other locked containers will not be frisked.​** The frisk of a vehicle is based on reasonable suspicion or articulable facts that a person may have immediate access to a dangerous weapon and is a threat to the safety of the officer. The frisk must be confined to the areas of the vehicle where the person has access, and the officer may only enter unlocked compartments or areas where a weapon may be present.

Question 71

investigative emergency search

Answer 71

A warrantless search that requires probable cause to: (1) prevent the destruction of evidence of a serious felony offense, or; (2) effect a warrantless arrest of a violent or dangerous suspect who officers have probable cause to believe committed a serious felony or violent offense and may escape if not immediately apprehended, or; (3) hot or fresh pursuit