Drider_it

ok this aired a few days ago and they are still at it. My question is.. wtf dont they just get an undercover informant outside the house somewhere and just wait.. then when and if the suspect shows up.. go get him. The video is sad in a way.

http://ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=2586460&nav=0RY5TImp


Every time the police come to Sandra Fleming’s house looking for her son, she tells them he doesn’t live there. And every time, the officers search the house anyway, looking for Tavarus Pines, who’s wanted for a parole violation. They’ve been to the Cedar Grove house four times in recent months, and not once has Pines been found.

“I’m tired of them busting up in my house,” said Fleming, while she was being kept out of her house during a search a few weeks ago. “They don’t ever show me a search warrant. They just ransack my house and leave.”

Officers gathering around the house, patrol cars parked up and down East 72nd Street , an irate being forced to wait outside – all familiar sights to Fleming’s neighbors, and all increasingly infuriating to Fleming herself.

“I cooperate with them even though they don’t cooperate with me,” she said, as an officer led a K-9 search dog up her front steps. “They don’t show me any warrant. They just look at me like I don’t exist: ‘You go sit down until we finish doing what we got to do.’

“Why can’t I go in the house? Why can’t I watch what they’re doing inside my own house? They let a dog go in my house, but not me.”

Following nearly 45 minutes of searching, officers cleared out of the house. One of them thanked Fleming for her cooperation, and, at her request, showed her the arrest warrant that ha

d been issued for her 24-year-old son.

“We have this active arrest warrant,” Probations and Parole Officer Butch Shaver explained. “We also received information this afternoon that he was present in the house, which gave us reason to come over.”

But, the explanation – and the fact that her address is listed on her son’s warrant - didn’t satisfy an irate Fleming, who was left to pick up the furniture and laundry strewn about her house.

News 12 asked civil rights attorney Nelson Cameron if the police acted appropriately.

“It would seem to me, that after they’ve been there four or so times, they should realize he’s not there,” Cameron said. “And they no longer have that ‘reason to believe.’”

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens from illegal searches. By legal definition, a search warrant allows officers to search a home. An arrest warrant, which is what the Shreveport officers had in this case, does not.

“An arrest warrant only gives officers the right to enter a residence to make an arrest,” Cameron said. “For the officers to enter the home and do a thorough search seems to run afoul of the Fourth Amendment and the Louisiana constitution.”

As a civil rights attorney, Cameron has heard stories like this before.

“Often times, there’s more to these people’s stories,” he said. “If everything they said would be true, you might have an airtight lawsuit against the police department. But, it does happen.

“And you don’t hear about this ever happening in Spring Lake or places like that. Where this happens is in poorer, black neighborhoods, where people often don’t have the resources to fight back.”

But, the Shreveport Police Department, whose officers assisted on the last search of Fleming’s home, vehemently denies that it has violated her civil rights.

“Any time you’re looking for someone who’s committed a crime, you have to proceed with caution,” said Kacee Hargrave, spokeswoman for the Department.

Tavarus Hines, the fugitive in question, was paroled over a year ago after being found in possession of stolen things. His record also includes a charge for resisting arrest.

“Officers have been killed searching for someone who didn’t want to be found,” Hargrave said. “We have to proceed with extreme caution.”

In Fleming’s eyes, the problem is that officers did precisely the opposite, proceeding instead with total disregard for her home and the possessions inside.

“I can understand the mother’s frustration,” Hargrave said. “But there are a lot of mothers out there who don’t want their sons to go to jail. I don’t know what her situation is. But we do have a fugitive out there, and it’s in the best interests of the citizens of Shreveport to get him off the streets.”

At least one citizen disagrees.

“My son doesn’t live here,” Fleming said. “If I knew where he was I’d let them get him. Because he’s in trouble, I’m on the chopping block too.”

__________________
It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.

Destrox

I really do feel sorry for her, and I can see a point on both sides.

Cops often go beyond what they are allowed, and give some total bullshit excuse why.

But the cops also are looking for a fugitive, and removing all persons from the house is the safest way.

Glad its not me.

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You bore me.... next.

f6twister

Lets look at a few things before passing judgement on the cops.

No where in this story does this lady say that she told them not to enter the residence. There is no Forth Amendment violation when permission to search is granted.

While she said that her son doesn't live there, at no time did she deny that her son was at the residence when the officers claim he was seen. If the cops don't have a current address for someone, they will keep an eye on a place that the suspect is known to frequent.

As far as the informant out front, that just isn't always possible. This person may show up in a day, week, month or never. Where could they put a person every day, all day for over a week if necessary without being noticed? Can they justify the money spent paying someone to watch a house for someone wanted on a theft charge? They usually reserve this type of activity for felons or violent criminals.

Yes, the are going to remove her from the house. The cops don't know if she is covering for her son or not and can't assume anything. If he is hiding in the residence, she could alert him if the cops got too close at which time he could either run or pull a gun and start shooting.

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A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day. Calvin

denim

She needs a lawyer. Tossing the house repeatedly like that is unreasonable.

Zeraph

They either have her consent, or a search warrant. Greedy75 said it well. Now there are some corrupt cops out there, but this is not one of those cases. Here are some facts on when police can search from my criminal justice class notes.

4th amendment search, seizure –need probably cause or warrant, eye can’t trespass, if its within view then you have probably cause, includes 5 senses, can search if 1. After arrest, 2. Plain view, 3. Consent, 4. Fresh pursuit, 5. Exigent circumstance (emergency) 6. Furtive movement, and 7. Abandoned property

Boo

I might add, a good lawyer and plans to move after the trial.

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Back button again, I must be getting old.

Drider_it

well when i watched the segment on our local news station she said often that they would come in and offer her the search warrent after wards.. also in louisiana you cant search for an arrest warrent.. you are going in to get a suspect.. i.e. you can search closets.. but like say opening a locked safe to find stolen money that they were unaware of and totally unknown to the arrest warrent.. that wont hold up.

__________________
It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.