D.Minn: Govt didn’t prove inventory policy, so suppressed (second federal inventory suppressed in a week)

The government didn’t prove the inventory here satisfied the department inventory policy, so the inventory was suppressed. United States v. Caskey, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103026 (D. Minn. July 25, 2012)*:

Furthermore, Officer Bobo did not describe the places that department policy allowed an officer to search in a vehicle. It is thus possible that the location of Officer Bobo’s search went beyond the policy’s dictates. This concern is particularly acute because Officer Bobo did not testify as to where he found each item located in the truck. See Best, 135 F.3d at 1225 (holding that an inventory policy allowed for the opening of any opaque containers but did not allow looking inside door panels).

The mere fact that Officer Bobo testified that he complied with NBPD’s policy is insufficient to meet the United States’ burden; the United States must define the policy and demonstrate that Officer Bobo complied with it. See Kennedy, 427 F.3d at 1144. The United States has not met its burden of producing evidence that proper inventory search procedures were in place and that law enforcement complied with those procedures. See id. Accordingly, the Court will suppress the items seized from the interior of Caskey’s truck during the inventory search.

United States v. Best, 135 F.3d 1223 (8th Cir. 1998), is one of mine. And, the Trooper who made the search is now a friend of mine; he’s an elected Sheriff.