What Is LEOSA? A Plain-English Guide for Active and Retired Officers
LEOSA lets active and retired officers carry concealed in any state. Here is who qualifies, where it does not apply, and the magazine rule that catches people out.
Search Incident to Arrest
Can you make a search incident to arrest even if you’re not planning to formally arrest the person and just issue a citation? Today’s question comes from an officer in Colorado. He essentially asked, “If I have probable cause to issue a citation for paraphernalia, can I also search their backpack or their person? Can […]
Three Golden Rules of Search and Seizure
These three golden rules come from reading thousands of court cases over the last 20 years and seeing a theme regarding what the courts are looking for. What is the first golden rule of search and seizure? The First Golden Rule, and the most important one, is: The more you articulate why you did something, […]
Body Snatching
Here is the question: Can an officer reach slightly into a person’s home to pull them out and arrest them? If an officer has probable cause, but no arrest warrant, and the person opens up the door, they’re talking to the officer, and the suspect is just an inch inside his house, would it be […]
Reasonable Suspicion Vs Probable Cause
What is the difference between reasonable suspicion and probable cause? It’s a great question, because even the courts struggle with defining the difference. There is no one definition that’s in the legal dictionary, so let’s look at them separately. What is the difference between a hunch and reasonable suspicion? First of all, we have to […]
Misdemeanor Crimes not Committed in Your Presence
Our next topic is: How do you handle misdemeanor crimes that are not committed in your presence? Many states have a misdemeanor restriction that you cannot make an arrest for a mis-demeanor that was not committed in your presence. Now, all of those states that have this restriction also have some exceptions. For example: DUI, […]
What is Plain View?
What is plain view? Plain view is nothing more than right to be, right to see. That’s the simplicity of it: right to be, right to see, hear and smell. So basically, the idea here is that if you are lawfully present, there is no search under the Fourth Amendment if you are simply using […]
What is a Private Search?
What evidence can I use from a private search? Well, the short answer is: all of it. Here is why: a private search is when a person searches or seizes something and there’s no government involvement. Now, the general rule is that if there is no government involvement, you can use any evidence that they […]
The Stale Misdemeanor Rule
What is the stale misdemeanor rule? The stale misdemeanor rule is a common law doctrine. It essentially means that a crime was committed within the officer’s presence, and he or she could arrest that person right then and there, but waits, and doesn’t arrest yet. If he then arrests sometime down the road, let’s say […]
Seizing Cellphone of O.D. Victim
Anthony Bandiero here, bringing you another question and answer. This one is from an officer in New York. The question is, when officers respond to an OD, and the person is revived, can you take their cell phone as evidence? You want to see who the dealer is, because that’s the person who could potentially […]
Manipulation Rule Relaxed?
This question comes from an officer in Florida. And he asks, “Have courts relaxed the manipulation rule under Terry patdowns?” What the officer’s talking about here is a case that’s called Minnesota versus Dickerson, US Supreme Court. Basically what happened there was that officers patted down Dickerson and they felt an item in his pocket […]
Binoculars in Public Areas
This question comes from an officer in Alabama. And basically, the question is: Can cops use binoculars to view suspects in a public area? They want to see, for example, sales of narcotics, and so forth. Now, does the officer need probable cause to do that? Does the cop need probable cause to make contact […]
S.W.A.T. In a Neighbor’s Backyard
Anthony Bandiero here to bring you another chat. We’ve got an excellent question here from an officer in California. The officer is basically asking, “Can police go into a neighbor’s backyard during a SWAT operation?” Excellent question. So let me give you a little feedback about the scenario here. During a SWAT operation, let’s say […]
When Does a Hotel Room Become a Home?
Here is our next question: When does a hotel room become a home or an apartment? If a hotel room is actually constitutionally considered a true home, then you may not be able to evict the occupants without a traditional pre-approval. So let’s walk through this doctrine. Is a hotel room treated like a home? […]
Evacuation Centers and The Fourth Amendment
How does the Fourth Amendment apply to evacuation shelters? My name is Anthony Bandiero. I’m an attorney and senior legal instructor for Blue to Gold Law Enforcement Training. So let’s go through this. The question comes from an officer in Florida. After a hurricane or other natural disaster, hundreds of people are displaced temporarily, to […]