CAN POLICE USE PHONY 911 CALL AS BASIS TO ENTER YOUR HOUSE?

vanity | 8/19/12 | jobim (vanity)

[jobim]

Here are the facts regarding friends (we'll call them the Parkers) of mine: Police came to the house at 3am, saying that someone reported they had heard a scream coming from their house. Police left upon being told that the Parkers had no knowledge of this.

Then sometime not long later, the police came to the Parker home again, saying that a 911 call had been made from the Parker house, with the voice of a woman yelling, and the phone was hung up. The parents were not at home, just the teenage boy and the 20-something girl. They showed no identification, although they wore the uniforms of the local police. The boy wished to accompany them as they searched the house, but they told him to stay where he was. One of the officers went down the hall to a bedroom where the husband's gun collection was, and lingered there long enough so that the other officer called out: "Are you all right?" The guns are all properly registered. The officers then left.

My questions: Is an incorrectly-attributed 911 call a frequent occurence? Could such be used to gain access to anyone's house? Is a warrant required?

[stinkerpot65]

Police don’t have a choice, but they could prosecute prank 911 calls.

[Chickensoup]

He called the police again and cancelled but they showed up anyway.

_____________________

They were hoping to catch a DUI!

[Jonty30]

Somebody once mis-read a Facebook post of mine, thinking I was going to commit suicide and called the cops. I met them at the door and they told me that they could come inside to ensure my well-being.

I figured that I probably had to let them in, but then they wanted to check my Facebook posting. I told them that they were no overreaching what we had agreed what their original intent was, which was to ascertain my well-being. I told them that I would unquestionably decline their curiousity beyond the original premise, even if they had to take me into custody.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

"Got a warrant?"

Don't need one. The Constitution forbids "unreasonable" searchs and seizures. There are what is known as exigent circumstances. If for instance, the police hear a woman screaming in a house, they can come in without getting a warrant. They can also search if they have probable cause. Generally, a search warrant is sought prior to a planned search, when there is little risk that evidence will be destroyed or an innocent person harmed if a search is delayed.

[Graybeard58]

My son who is a cop responded to a 911 call from a 13 year old girl who said her older brother was hitting her in the face. When he got there he discovered they were the only two at home and the 15 year old brother had thrown a french fry (one french fry) at her, hitting her on the cheek.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The can do anything they want.

The use "drug-sniffing" dogs to manufacture probable cause all the time.

[fr_freak]

Swatting is not hacking

See post #16.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Don't need one.

You're absolutely right. Cops can do anything they want.

All they have to do is bring in a "drug-sniffing" dog to manufacture probable cause.

[UB355]

Somewhat depends on the system your 911 answering point (PSAP)uses. Does it get actual gps location from the phone? I ask because some systems only get a triagulated location based on cell tower location calculations. These triangulated locations can be off by a considerable distance.

[Defiant]

I don’t think an anonymous call from a neighbor would support probable cause for a warrant, so why should it support probable cause to believe that a crime is being committed and that exigent circumstances exist? Police can go to the door and inquire of whoever answers, and listen and look for signs of distress, but in my opinion, they cannot barge in without a warrant. But that was the old America; nowadays, they have the TSA stopping people at rail stations and on city streets, drones in the sky and cameras recording license plates at every corner. Those old rules and rights are becoming quaint.

[Defiant]

Problem with the parking brake?

[ccmay]

A teenage boy, 20-year-old “girl”, and screaming? Buy that man a cigar!

[jobim]

1)It’s called SWATing.
Is this legal?

2)"Got a warrant?"
The kids were home alone and didn't ask. Can the parents hold the police responsible after the fact for not having warrants?

3)I would guess a vast majority of 911 calls aren’t false.
Granted. Do we think it a pattern that a system not completely reliable can be used an excuse to enter at will?

4)Holy heck, where do these Parker’s live that they have to register their firearms? Basically, the cops can do whatever they want, and recourse comes after the fact. Unless, possibly, you know your rights, have a camera and a witness, and you don’t open the door. They would have to have probable cause that a felony has been committed.
Yes, this was of concern to me. He styed in that room a long time where the guns were on the wall. Additionally, the father had in the distant past been a gun dealer. Abnd recently the son had written a pro-gun letter to the local newspaper, which they never printed, but could they have sent it along to the police, perhaps under blanket direction of DHS's "See something do something" command, especially to local law enforcement?

5)We’ve had three experiences with the police coming for 911 calls made in error
But in this case, they stand by the address being correct, even that the girl's voice matches that of the innocent Parker girl.

6)If they come in with guns blaring and shooting dogs...it’s wrong. Searching a house that has had two 911 hangups is ok.
No, just one hangup - the other call came to report a scream heard at the residence. Strangely enough, the Parker girl had been recently stopped by the police for not wearing a seatbelt, which when she was pulled over was clearly not the case.

7)Apparently, someone walking by heard what they thought were screams (it was screams but part of the script) and called 911. They came by, checked everything out, talked to everyone in the house and left.
But no search. Here they just came in and wouldn't let the boy accompany one of them as he went through the house.

8)Either secure the system, or toss it
That is my question: How secure/accurate is it? Are others harrassed due to its inaccuracy?

9)They need to contact whatever communications center that dispatches officers for that jurisdiction and get a print-out of the call chronology so as to determine if there was any real calls to service in the first place and try to determine the origin of these complaints as well as officer actions and comments. Use the info, if any, to make a complaint to the department concerning those false calls - obtaining the info and making a complaint NOW is important in the event these 911 calls escalate in severity. If they get any static about obtaining chronology information from the dispatch, consult an attorney - matter of fact they may want to anyway on the side of caution. Also they need to think if there is someone in their lives who would want to deliberately target them with "SWATing" stunts.
Thanks for the advice. If someone is targeting them, how did they make a call from the Parker phone? Either a glitch in the system, or the police have their eyes on them and search them using trumped-up charges.

10)I’ve seen them show up after a cancelled call as well.
I understand this, but there was no search done in your case.

11)Wrong. The swatting incidents that have made the news recently were the result of spoofed caller IDs.
That might explain this - how possible is it to hack the system?

12)We told them it was their glitch. they left.
These guys didn't leave.

13)Appear at the window with hands visible and state “I do not consent to a search - if you have a warrant, kick the door down and enter.”
Good advice. We need to coach our children it seems.

14)Swatting is not hacking ... and just what would you replace the current system with that is so much better?
The system may be OK, but we need to guard against the abuse of it with vigilance.

[cripplecreek]

Problem with the parking brake?

Smoke inhalation.

[Defiant]

I’m very confused. How did smoke inhalation cause his truck to be 100 yards off the road from the driveway where he parked it? Just curious, not relevant to the story.

[Delta 21]

The guns are all properly registered.

WTF ??

[jobim]

Thanks. I’ll check into this. Quite likely in that section of the Big Island.

[jobim]

Did I say this is Hawaii? One-party rule? Blue as the mighty Pacific that surrounds us?

[cripplecreek]

He was high and put it in neutral rather than park. There was a eal slight incline at the top of the drive that got steeper toward the road.

[Neidermeyer]

but since it is so easily hacked, as we see with the various “swatting” incidents, it should no longer be considered reliable. Either secure the system, or toss it.
**********************************************************
Absolutely ,, caller-id info can be very easily spoofed ... I would require that centers receiving 911 calls have PBX equipment that can actually determine the originating number rather than rely on the transmitted data. This failure is an open invitation to barge into any residence or building ... you can bet some agency is going to use this opening to get into areas they can’t get a warrant for.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5128156_spoof-caller-id.html