It would be nice if we could get LEO to answer the simple question of, "Do you consider the 4th amendment of the constitution as an impediment to conducting your work, or an essential right that trumps the added effort for you to show probable cause and get a judge to grant you a warrant"
To me that's the gold standard of good cop / bad cop. I'd venture to say if we could use that litmus test, issues of comply or be tazed, cops that never back down when challenged, etc., would for the most part go away as if by magic.
That's not difficult to answer at all. I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and that document, as well as each amendment therein, contains individual rights that are absolutely essential to each and every member in society. The extra time and effort to obtain a search warrant has never been an impediment to doing my job...
The added bonus, if I've had a warrant signed by a judge, it generally saves a lot of time later dealing with various motions and hearings in court regarding the validity of a search.
Chris
Let's give a hypothetical that maybe isn't as cut and dry.
You and your partner have been investigating a suspected drug dealer. He has a few priors, so you know he's a real scum ball.
You've had him under surveillance for a few weeks and have been following him to an house that's been converted into an apartment and suspect that's his stash house. You don't know exactly what apartment he's renting, but get a warrant guessing he's in apartment #2. You follow him into the common area of the apartment that has a locked door with a no trespassing sign and didn't knock or announce. You see he goes into apartment #5. Instead of having the warrant updated to reflect the proper apartment number, you execute the warrant on apartment #5 and find drugs stashed in the apartment.
During the trial when the defense attorney asks why you followed him into the common area when the sign said no trespassing, your partner says that he thinks that sign doesn't apply to law enforcement.
The judge is also sworn to uphold the constitution, but he doesn't seem to have an issue with the officers executing the warrant on the wrong apartment, nor that fact that they ignored a no trespass sign without knocking an announcing was an issue.
You can say the drug dealer got what he deserved, another scum bag is off the street. But at what price?
BTW, this wasn't a hypothetical and there were other 4th amendment transgressions such as taking a cell phone from someone who wasn't under arrest, with no warrant, searching through that cell phone to get information that was used to get the search warrant. Again the judge couldn't be trifled with such matters.
I'm sure some out there will conveniently label me as a cop hater, leftist etc. I've never been arrested, never been hassled by a cop, and hold cops in high regard for the tremendous challenges and dangers they face performing their job. I simply consider the Constitution and Bill of Rights as one of the finest documents written by man and one worth holding everyone who is sworn to protect up to that high standard.
