Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

violation of the fouth amendment?

why the police were called: a verbal altercation occurs but

is thought settled, party 1 goes inside to its apartment, party 2 leaves but feeling embarrassed calls 911 and falsely reported party 1 wielded a gun. Police respond: apartment owner steps outside because the police are banging on his neighbors door. he closes his door behind him. at gun point he is handcuffed, frisked, told someone called saying HE a man with his exact description was waiving a gun around and is asked wear the gun is. he explains what took place and that there was and is no gun on him or any where in his apartment. then he asks why he is under arrest. he is ignored led away and the police open his apartment door and go inside. while inside they saw drug residue, they took him to jail and waited until the next morning for a judge to sign a warrant, then went back to do a full search with narcotics officers. like he told the responding officers THERE WAS NO GUN! but was charged with various drug charges! First how can they do all that when it was a false 911 call? and second isn't this a violation of the fourth amendment? he was identified, had no gun, and was outside his apartment! why should the police have gone inside his apartment to begin with?


Asked on 12/28/07, 11:27 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
TC Langford Langford Law Office

Re: violation of the fouth amendment?

The problem appears to have originated with the original false police report of possible violence, which the apartment owner apparently knew was a false report, but the police did not. It becomes a matter of tracing everyone's behavior as a reasonable person would behave under the circumstances as they know them to be true. The defendant obviously needs a lawyer to decipher the events, and if a Motion to Suppress the drugs is viable.

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Answered on 12/28/07, 12:03 pm


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