OH11: Knocking on door jamb and pushing open partly open door was reasonable and with exigent circumstances

Defendant’s motel room door was partly open, and the officer knocked on the door jamb and then pushed the door open. This was reasonable because there was both probable cause and exigent circumstances for opening the door. State v. Fletcher, 2017-Ohio-1006, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 988 (12th Dist. March 20, 2017).*

“Thus, based upon the totality of the circumstances, which include the late time of day, high crime area, the traffic violations, Cooper’s furtive movements [reaching toward his waistband when told to keep his hands still], the number of occupants in the car, the officers’ training and experience, a chaotic situation involving multiple people in the car (two of which were armed) and another car pulling up on the scene with the passengers yelling at the police, we find the officers’ actions were reasonable. The detectives were called upon to make quick decisions; we do not find that their actions in this case were unreasonable or infringed upon Cooper’s Fourth Amendment Rights.” State v. Cooper, 2017-Ohio-970, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 978 (8th Dist. March 9, 2017).*