FL5: Entry to a house because of a child wandering the street at night was reasonable; the officer reasonably believed the parents had a medical emergency

Officer found a child wandering the streets, and the child could not wake his parents or get them to come to the door. The officer acted reasonably in making his entry into the house and going into the bedroom to check on the parents who did not wake up. Drugs were found in plain view. The entry was reasonable. Ortiz v. State, 24 So. 3d 596 (Fla. App. 5th DCA 2009) (en banc) (prior opinion posted here):

The officer was fulfilling a laudable police function in attempting to reunite the child with his missing parents. He was not, it should be noted, acting to investigate and uncover a crime. We give weight to the fact that a proper function of the officer in these circumstances was to attempt to reunite the child with his parents, much as the supreme court implicitly did in Riggs.

Although the dissent concludes that there was no reason to believe that the parents were in the house and in possible need of medical or other assistance, we find ourselves in sharp disagreement with that proposition. At the time that’ the officer reached the house, the child indicated that his parents were inside and knocked on the door. When there was no answer forthcoming, the child led the officer to the unlocked garage door and either with or without the officer’s assistance, lifted the garage door. The officer could see a light on in the house, indicating that someone might be home, yet no one responded. Although the transcript does not say specifically, it appears that the child, followed by the officer, then entered the house through an unlocked door from the garage.

Had the officer acted unreasonably up to this point? We think not. Certainly the officer would reasonably conclude based on the historical facts and the inferences that would logically be drawn from them that something was not right, and that prudence would dictate that he follow the child into the home. He knew that the parents were quite late in picking up the child at the school and could not be reached by phone. At 7:30 p.m., an hour and a half after the child was first supposed to be picked up by his parents, the officer found himself with the child in the unlocked garage of the child’s home, and he could see a light on in the unlocked house. Still, no one responded to his knock. Viewing these facts objectively, could the officer reasonably conclude that something was wrong? We and the trial judge, who considered the live testimony presented, agree that the answer to this inquiry is, yes.

Upon entering the house, still having charge of the child, the officer still saw no sign of the parents. Although the child indicated that his parents were likely in the bedroom, the officer found that the bedroom door was locked from the inside, and there was no response to his knock or announcement. At every incremental stage of this evolving scenario the officer reasonably followed his instincts leading him to the conclusion that there could well be a medical emergency under way or worse. Upon entering the bedroom, the officer said, in fact, that he searched for a body. Instead he found the drugs in plain view. There was nothing unreasonable about the officer’s behavior or his apprehensions that he was dealing with an emergent situation that demanded prompt action.