Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio

illegal police procedure?

i was at a party on OSU and we had orange fencing around the yard, also had someone at the opening checking ID's The police (undercover) with badges around their neck came into the party and started ID'ing people. my friend ran down from the porch and got in between one cop, kinda pushing him back. Told the cop he couldnt be there it was a private party. The cop identified himself again and stated why he was there (youthful looking people) drinking alcoholic beverages. The kid told the cop his badge could be fake and he needed to call his department so they could ID the cop as being real. The cop also showed his department ID card which my friend then said he could of printed it off the computer. My friend then tried to push him back again, not hard but still put his hands on the officer. The cop then put him in handcuffs and arrested him for obstruction of official business. My questions are this. Do the cops have to call dept. to confirm who they are? Do the cops have the right to come in the yard even if we have it sectioned off? Also if they can where can I read up about it at? And is there anyway to protect our yard from the cops coming into the yard and start ID'ing people? Thank


Asked on 10/21/07, 11:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bradley Miller Miller Law LLC

Re: illegal police procedure?

The officers do not have to call the department. If you are concerned about whether the individuals are officers, you may call the department to verify their identities.

The key concept in whether a police officer may enter private property is whether he or she has probable cause to do so. If he or she reasonably believes there may be a crime committed, such as underage drinking, then there may be probable cause to enter and investigate.

Officers may enter the yard if they see people drinking who they reasonably believe may be underage in order to ID them. They may also go onto the porch to ID people. If while on the porch or in the yard they see people inside the house drinking who they reasonably believe may be underage, they may enter the house to ID them.

If you want to keep the police from coming into your yard to ID people, you need to make sure the officers can't see anyone drinking that they could ID. You might be able to do this by having a solid fence the officers could not see through or by keeping the party inside with the door shut. If an officer sees a person drinking and he or she reasonably believes the person might be underage, the officer can go up to that person, wherever they may be, and ask for ID.

Where your friend got in trouble was by pushing the officer. It is never advisable to touch let alone push an officer. Your friend could have been charged with assault of an officer, which could rise to felony status and carries prison time. Hopefully your friend has or will get a lawyer to help him.

If you or your friend have any other questions, feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 10/22/07, 2:00 pm


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