Two views of police created exigency

Officers admittedly lacking probable cause did a knock-and-talk at defendant’s house. Two other men fled out the back, and a cellphone visible through a window was gone. The defendant inside lied about his identity. The court found exigency and then considered whether the police created it. Instead, defendant created exigency when he lied, and the police then legitimately feared that seven computers inside which were of interest to them would be tampered with or the data destroyed.
United States v. Trowbridge, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88257 (N.D. Tex. November 29, 2007):

In this case, the Court is convinced that like the officer in Jones, the agents did not have probable cause to search Trowbridge’s computers because there was no evidence connecting his computers to the offense they were investigating. (Gov’t’s Resp. to Mot. to Suppress 18). Accordingly, it was reasonable for the officers to use the “knock and talk” strategy to further investigate. In addition, Trowbridge and Roberson, not the officers, created the exigency when they attempted to deceive the agents by claiming that Trowbridge was not at home. Based on the agents’ testimony, the Court concluded that their investigative tactics were reasonable and did not create the exigency.

Consenting to defendant’s re-entering home after a 911 call that was diffused was a police created exigency because they wanted to follow him in. United States v. Davis, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88262 (N.D. Tex. November 29, 2007):

Based on the officers’ credible testimony in the five hour evidentiary hearing, the Court determined that any emergency that existed based on Cupito’s 911 call had ended when the officers approached Davis’s door. The officers had spoken to Cupito, and she was standing safely outside Davis’s home. Both officers testified that they had determined that they would arrest Davis before they requested his identification. If there was an exigency that Davis would harm the officers, retrieve a weapon, flee, or destroy evidence, it was created when the officers requested and consented to Davis reentering his home to retrieve his identification. Even though the officers were acting in good faith, this police-created exigency does not justify their invasion of the “sanctity of the home” to effect a warrantless arrest. See Payton, 445 U.S. at 589. Accordingly, the Government has not met its heavy burden of establishing an exigency.