Erosion of the Bill of Rights continues...

[Fenian_Bastard]

So, after they bury my bullet-riddled carcass, does my family have a cause of action?

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

So, after they bury my bullet-riddled carcass, does my family have a cause of action?

Doubtful. You would almost certainly have to prove the police acted in bad faith and/or knew what they were doing was illegal/against established protocol to win a 42 U.S. 1983 suit. I doubt you will find many courts who will hold that when police start firing back they are doing so in bad faith.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

So I, as an American citizen, am supposed to, what, INTUIT that the man who breaks down my door without identifying himself is a police officer? What if I'm, say, the Reverend Accelyne Williams, the elderly Boston minister who died after being cuffed and rousted by Boston SWAT cops after their CI gave them his address? What if I'm the Reverend Williams, doing nothing wrong, in a tough neighborhood, and somebody I don't know starts breaking and entering? This is a bad decision on a number of levels, not the least of which is the fact that Scalia seems to have no concept of how the police and citizens interact in the real world, or he doesn't care, as long as the cops are arresting people he could care less about.

 

[Pastor]

I was talking with a constitutional lawyer today who brought up a pragmatic point in re: this decision.
If a cop fails to ID himself, and kicks down my door, can I shoot him?
After all, as far as I know, he's a guy kicking in my door.

I was thinking about this in the morning when I heard about the decision. New laws have been passed in several "red states" providing for self-defense. The right to shoot an intruder on-site has increased.

Now, you are saying the cops can just barge in without identifying themselves first.

The two just don't mix.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

. . . and won't it be "interesting" . . .

 

[Ben_Hecht]

. . . and you expected what from the likes of Scalia, given his enduring love affair with the likes of the VP? . . .

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Aren't police generally pretty good about announcing their presence right away when they barge into something?

 

[Idaho]

Aren't police generally pretty good about announcing their presence right away when they barge into something?

But sending a certified letter with a time of arrival would help the suspects know when to put their pants on. Or reload.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Well no one wants to walk in and "see their cocks hanging out." [/Reggie Dunlop]

 

[Charlie Brown]

The cops only have to knock if they suspect deck buttforking Scalia. We cannot have SCOTUS interruptus or Vice POTUS interruptus.

 

[Pastor]

Aren't police generally pretty good about announcing their presence right away when they barge into something?

But sending a certified letter with a time of arrival would help the suspects know when to put their pants on. Or reload.

Yes, because clearly a certified letter is what is anyone who disagrees with this ruling is saying.

Also, just because you announce who you are after entering a building doesn't mean it is always heard and heard correctly amidst the noise of the door breaking apart, stamping feet and general police chatter.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Well I suppose maybe they shouldn't let Officer Soft-Talker lead the way in then?