D.N.M.: Inventory of a locked backpack was reasonable and within dept regs

The inventory of defendant’s locked backpack when he was taken into custody was within departmental policy which was followed and was otherwise reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Trujillo, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184486 (D. N.M. Oct. 29, 2018):

Because Deputy Skroch followed standardized criteria set forth by the Bernalillo Sheriff’s Department and acted in good faith pursuant to those established policies, the Court finds that the search of Mr. Trujillo’s locked backpack was proper and did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights. Inventory searches are a recognized exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirements. Where a standardized, reasonable policy is in place and police do not abuse their discretion, inventory searches of even locked containers do not violate an individual’s Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches or seizures. See Bertine, 479 U.S. 367, 107 S. Ct. 738, 93 L. Ed. 2d 739; Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 96 S. Ct. 3092, 49 L. Ed. 2d 1000; Wells, 495 U.S. 1, 110 S. Ct. 1632, 109 L. Ed. 2d 1.