The neighbor called the cops on these guys and the police had to respond.
:: The neighbor called the cops on these guys and the police had to respond. ::
Well, no the beat-officer didn’t ^have to respopnd^. Neither did his “lieutenant” if he would have asked one simple question: “Is the vehicle being washed in the street or in the driveway?”
Municipal code violations do not supercede the 4th Amendment. Tell the officer, “Please exit my property and return with a proper ^felony^ warrant.”
Say nothing else and do not let the officer gain access to your property past the sidewalk. (Note that, as the bus passed by, the officer’s car was parked in the middle of the street, blocking ^legal^ egress from the driveway - - - an indication of a felony investigation).
No, they didn't. They only need to respond if the neighbor claims that a crime is being committed.
The cops have a duty to verify that some reasonable suspicion exists that a crime is being committed before accusing someone of committing a crime.
Obviously, a person's driveway is not a "public place". The cops have a duty to question the neighbor regarding the elements of a purported crime.
Your statement is the same thinking that causes police to harass people legally carrying firearms. The cops have a duty to question anyone reporting a "man with a gun" in order to determine whether any cause exists to suspect that a crime is being committed. The alternative is to treat the exercise of a right as suspicion of a crime.
The police could have responded by telling the neighbor that the car washing was legal but making frivolous phone calls to the police is not.