Officer Safety, What Exactly Does this Justify?

Office safety is commonly used as a rationale for law enforcement to conduct a search or seizure without a warrant. For instance, if the police search a home pursuant to a warrant, it is lawful to freeze the residence and force everyone in the home to leave. The police, under certain circumstances, can briefly detain guests inside the residence in order to request identification. But where does this justification stop?

Officer safety is now being used as an excuse for a warrantless search of personal property. If the police enter a home, should they be allowed to search the purse of woman who refuses to identify herself? Clearly this is the easiest way to determine who this person may be or whether this person has any violence in their past. But are the police allowed to use this most intrusive of methods in order to ensure safety.

There are many other options available to law enforcement which do not require a surrendering of our right to privacy. In the situation discussed above, the police could have simply asked the person to leave the home. Law enforcement could also request consent to search for weapons if the third party insists on staying in the residence. Both of these methods alleviate officer safety concerns without eviscerating our right to privacy. Additionally, these methods would not take undue time or create a substantial burden.

Food for thought, if you believe that the police should be allowed to search a person's purse without any other justification than officer safety, should this allow them to search all the passengers of a vehicle which was pulled over for a simple traffic infraction. The slippery slope may not be clear, but we must take measures not to loose our footing and tumble down the hill.

Attorney Criminal Defense San Mateo County Redwood City