Following the home checkup gone wrong which was the second time Lakeville’s police officers gained national attention, the man who’s house they barged into in the middle of the night to provide a “public service” is demanding a public hearing and if he doesn’t get it, he will pursue legal action.
There was already some discussion here about whether or not this was a justified act. According to the Pioneer Press’ article linked above, the officers have not been disciplined but that Lakeville is planning on reevaluating their policies. While Lakeville City Administrator Steve Mielke believes that this was a justified and well intentioned action, Charles Samuelson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said that the authorities should only be allowed to enter a home when chasing a suspect or when they have a search warrant. Samuelson also said:
Frankly, I (have) left my garage door open at night,” Samuelson said. “It is distressing the officers felt they had a duty to do this. It’s lucky, in their case, the guy wasn’t armed.
While a decent lawyer and probably even a public defender would have gotten the guy off if the Lakeville police officers had found anything in his house that day, I do fear for our civil liberties when there isn’t a larger public outcry against an event like this. While at first I was on the fence, more or less, now that I look back I really think that this could become a serious issue.
We’ll see if Lakeville responds within the next nine days before Troy Molde moves forward with his threat of legal action. I’m personally behind him 100% but I wonder what the courts will do — probably nothing…
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July 8th, 2008 at 8:22 am
If the city of Lakeville wanted to save face, they’d at least discipline the officers but being that they are police, the court will likely rule in their favor as the judge wipes the BBQ sauce from the corners of his mouth with the constitution.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Unfortunately the public doesn’t even care to see that happen :(
July 8th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
What did “the judge” do to deserve that statement (about the consitution and the bbq sauce)? So far there is no judge assigned.
I think a person’s reaction should also take into account the intention of the police. I have no reason to believe there was a “bad” intention, so I would assume they felt the situation suspicious for some reason and they were looking out for the guy.
I just don’t think we know enough about the specifics to encourage the officers to be punished. The judge comes in at this point if Troy Molde chooses to take it to that level.
If I lived in Lakeville, I would also encourage an internal investigation and the publishing of the results given all the attention and importance of the issue.
One other thing. Regarding the assumption that Troy’s constitutional rights were violated, do you think this entrance to the home counts a search and seizure? Or is it an attempt at communication? Or was it trespassing?
Before you assume I am backing the cops, I think they were looking to get their head blown off by entering the home in that manner. So it was a really stupid decision every way you look at it.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
JP is correct, we don’t know all of the facts… That is what a jury is for. Not likely the prosecutors who are supposed to represent the good people of this county will file criminal charges against the officers though. Without something more, like a complaint from a neighbor that they heard a scream, or a report that the occupant of the house hadn’t been seen in a while, there is not appropriate justification for theit actions. As I recall, the officers saw that people were home, saw they were OK, asked to talk to the father, and were informed he was sleeping. At this point, all seems OK. Do they turn and leave? No, they traipse through the house and wake the man up in the middle of the night to lecture him. The argument that this was a safety check and nothing more fails miserably after the officers saw that people were home and OK, and continued to remain uninvited.