CA8: Entry was justified by the community caretaking function because of possibility person inside was in danger

The police entry was here was justified because of the possibility that the person inside was unable to communicate and potentially held against her will or otherwise in danger. United States v. Smith, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 6749 (8th Cir. April 14, 2016):

We are satisfied that the officers acted in their community caretaking function when they entered Smith’s residence. The circumstances resemble those in Harris and Quezada, in which officers responded to potential emergency situations to aid members of the community. See Harris, 747 F.3d at 1018-1020 (holding that community caretaker doctrine applied when officers responded to a call that a gun was sliding out of the pocket of a sleeping individual at a bus station); Quezada, 448 F.3d at 1007-08 (holding that community caretaker doctrine applied when officer encountered an emergency situation while serving a child protection order). The officers in the present case received a call from a concerned member of the community regarding the safety of another community member. On the scene, the officers learned further details indicating serious concern for Wallace’s safety and establishing multiple reasons why she would be at Smith’s residence and held against her will or in danger.

We must next weigh the government’s interests in the officers’ entry against Smith’s right to be free from government intrusion. … Here, the officers did not enter Smith’s residence as a protective sweep. As far as the officers reasonably knew at the time, Wallace could have been incapacitated within the residence in any number of ways that would prevent her from emerging from the residence following Smith’s arrest. Wallace’s lack of response to any calls or messages on her cell phone since leaving the half-way house further suggested that she was unable to respond. The fact that officers saw a face in the window undermined Smith’s claim that he was the only person in the home at the time and a reasonable officer on the scene could believe the person seen in the window required their assistance. The justification for the officers’ entry arises from their obligation to help those in danger and ensure the safety of the public. See Quezada, 448 F.3d at 1007; Samuelson, 455 F.3d at 877. The district court found that, as in Quezada, “a reasonable officer … could conclude that someone was inside but was unable to respond for some reason.” 448 F.3d at 1008. We agree and conclude that the officers reasonably believed an emergency situation existed that required their immediate attention in the form of entering Smith’s residence to search for Wallace.