On the subject of police arrest warrants....

Since this forum has some aspiring, current, and retired law enforcement officers and legal professionals, I thought this would be a fun exercise to find out everyone's two cents.

So this morning, at six am, the local sheriff served an arrest warrant on a neighbor, whose property is directly behind mine. In the Sheriff's departments attempt to surround the neighbors property, two officers entered my backyard and used a ladder to look over my back wall into the neighbor's property. In their rush to surround the neighbor's property, the officers caused damage to a wood fence, on my property that allows access into my backyard. Also, my less than 3 month old German Sheppard puppy was allowed to escape my property.

So here is the point of this post. The officers chose to set their momentary stakeout, on my property, to ensure the suspect would not escape out the back, instead of going around the neighbors property and setting up there. What is the legal justification and/or procedure that allows this? Was this legal entry onto my property? Who is responsible for the damage? Does a citizen have to right to block law enforcement from entering their property in this circumstance? While serving an arrest warrant, what allows law enforcement the right to enter a non-suspect's property and cause damage while serving a warrant?

I have searched the interwebs for clarification and have only come across the principle of exigent circumstance to justify the officer's actions but that principle seems to apply in reaction to the arrestee's actions, not as a proactive, stakeout tool.

Bunkered wrote: Cops can do whatever they want. .

Yeah......no. There lies the problem. They think they can,

Its a good thing that God didnt grab his loaded shotgun from under the bed and while still groggy and start blasting away at the figures dressed in their tactile/heavily armored outfits and carrying loaded assault rifles, who did not identify that they were law enforcement officers.



But seriously, I am curious to get some thoughts, regarding the above post.

Edited by Hades - 08 April 2009 at 10:56am

They were not granted permission to enter the property. I was only notified of their presence when the above mentioned dog barked at them before escaping the property.The officers pre-planned their method of using my backyard as an observation post since they brought their own ladder to stand on to do their observing over my back wall.

I believe you have recourse.  Unfortunately you may need to consult an attorney to get anywhere.

Surely the whole definition of private property precludes the need for no trespassing signs?

I know where I live no trespassing signs are just for reinforcement. You need right of admission reserved signs for public places if you want to restrict access.

Let me be clear. My property is located in a residential neighborhood in a populated city in Los Angeles County, CA. I am not in a rural area where property lines cannot be easily discerned. My property is surrounded by 3, 7 to 8 foot cinder block walls and two wooden fences. The backyard is separated into different sections with chain link fences.


Edited by God - 08 April 2009 at 12:16pm

Just a tad out of my area, but I'll throw in some guesses anyway...

Edited by Peter Parker - 08 April 2009 at 12:20pm

Just for entertainment sake, for those interested.

To gain entry into my back yard, the officers broke off a panel of wood on my front exterior fence that held the latch that normally opens the gate. Since the panel with the latch was removed, the gate then easily swung open, allowing the officers to enter my back yard. Next the officers had to pass the vehicle that I park behind said gate/fence on the side of the house while carrying their ladder. Next they encountered another chain link fence which they seem to have correctly opened, (surprisingly) in a normal fashion while faced with my barking puppy. In their rush to peep over my back wall, inside my back yard, they left both gates open and the dog decided to go for a walk by itself.

While the damage to the fence is probably the cost of one wood plank, a replacement latch, and some screws, I just fixed that fence less than six months ago. In addition, I was able to to find the puppy after a quick drive around the neighborhood.

While I generally respect peace officers,  it would have been nice for these two, to have knocked on my front door, or even the back door, (since they were back there anyway) and apologized for, or at least mentioned, that they broke my fence and let my dog loose. Had I not gotten out of bed and investigated the noises, I would have been unaware the dog had escaped and could have lost her forever.

Was this legal entry onto my property? Yes
Who is responsible for the damage? The department
Does a citizen have to right to block law enforcement from entering their property in this circumstance? No