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CA11: Officers showed sufficient knowledge arrestee was in plaintiff's house to enter on arrest warrant

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The sued officers showed that there was sufficient belief the person sought in the arrest warrant was in the plaintiff's house. Therefore, the officers have qualified immunity. Payton v. City of Florence, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 1336 (11th Cir. January 21, 2011) (unpublished)*: As to police officers’ “on the spot determination” of whether the suspect is within the home at the time, “court must be sensitive to common sense factors indicating a resident’s presence.” Id. at 1263. For example, “officers may presume that a person is at home at certain times of the day — a presumption which can be rebutted by contrary evidence regarding the suspect’s known schedule.” Id. at 1267 (quotation marks omitted)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 25, 2011 (boomark / email).