Emergency doctrine permitted entry and sweep of all rooms for potential injured persons

Officers had a reasonable basis under the emergency doctrine to enter a house and inspect all rooms for potential injured persons. The court provided a detailed analysis of all factors justifying the scope of the search. Guererri v. State, 922 A.2d 403 (11th Cir. 2007):

There also was a reasonable nexus between the emergency and the area searched. At the time the officers entered Guererri’s house, they had no knowledge of how many people were actually inside, nor did they know if anyone had been injured during the shootings. Thus, the police properly restricted their search to areas inside Guererri’s house where they might find potential gunshot victims. Their search was not unlimited or random, such as, for example, peering into drawers, cupboards or wastepaper baskets. Here, after the police confronted the defendants who apparently were in no need of emergency assistance, it was reasonable for them to check the rest of the house “to see if there was anybody else down or hurt inside the residence.” The police had reason to search the basement for potential victims and did so without exceeding the bounds of their authority under the emergency doctrine. Therefore, because the officers had a reasonable basis for an emergency search and the scope of their search was likewise reasonable under the circumstances, they did not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Defendant officers had cause to enter on a domestic disturbance call because of the sounds from inside. “‘Police officers responding to a domestic violence report have a duty to ensure the present and continued safety and well-being of the occupants….the fact that the occupants appeared to be unharmed when the officers entered did not guarantee that the disturbance had cooled to the point where their continued safety was assured.’ People v. Higgins, 26 Cal. App. 4th 247, 253 (Cal. Ct. App. 1994), quotations omitted.” Sanders v. City of Bakersfield, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22675 (E.D. Cal. March 10, 2007).*

Officers noticed strong odor of a meth lab, and they went to defendant’s door and knocked. When he answered, they arrested him and conducted a protective sweep, not finding a lab. They secured a search warrant, and then found the lab. The trial court erred in granting the motion to suppress, applying the wrong law. State v. Kennedy, 953 So. 2d 655 (Fla. App. 1st Dist. 2007).*

Officers came to defendant’s motel room door looking a man in the motel, and said he was not the one they were looking for (he actually wasn’t). They asked for ID, and he went back into the room to get it. While the door was open, the officer could smell raw marijuana, and he stepped into the room for safety purposes, and then he could see marijuana packages in plain view. The motion to suppress was improperly granted. United States v. Jones, 64 M.J. 596 (Army Ct. App. 2007).*