Tag Archives: search warrants

Does a Police Checkpoint on a Bike-Trail Violate the Fourth Amendment?

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On a public bike and pedestrian pathway, police in Chicago set up a checkpoint at the exit of a pedestrian bridge and tunnel and subject everyone to search of their bags for alcohol or weapons, without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or a search warrant. Is that legal? This fantastic submission video was sent in by Cynical Zombie and it’s very well done. The footage is great. But the question is better. Here’s what he filmed Chicago police doing earlier this week:

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution generally requires a search of a person or property by the government be reasonable. A governmental search lacking a particularized warrant issued by a neutral and detached magistrate upon a showing of probable cause, is presumed unreasonable and therefore unconstitutional. Katz v. United States , 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). 

However, a warrantless “administrative search” can be held reasonable and constitutional. The burden is on the Government to show that such a search is in furtherance of a specific and legitimate non-criminal goal, is no more extensive nor invasive than necessary to address that goal, does not give discretion to the searching individual, and does not have as a collateral purpose collection of criminal evidence. United States v. Stafford , 416 F.3d 1068, 1074 (9th Cir. 2005) ; United States v. Bulacan , 156 F.3d 963, 967 (9th Cir. 1998) ; United States v. Davis , 482 F.2d 893, 908 (9th Cir. 1973). 

For instance, without a warrant, people can be lawfully stopped at road checkpoints for detecting drunk driving, driving without a license, and illegal hunting; government employees and students can be lawfully searched, including through drug testing; closely regulated businesses can be subject to periodic inspection; and airplane passengers can have their luggage opened and their bodies patted down. People can also be detained based only on reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing (“not a particularly high threshold to reach”), United States v. Valdes-Vega , 738 F.3d 1074, 1078 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc), and can be arrested based only on probable cause (“not a high bar”). Kaley v. United States , 571 U.S. 320, 338, 134 S.Ct. 1090, 188 L.Ed.2d 46 (2014). Verdun v. City of San Diego, 51 F.4th 1033 (9th Cir. 2022).

Case law conditions administrative searches on being no more intrusive than necessary, and “consistent with current technology. ” It is only rational to interpret the term “consistent with current technology” to apply to both the object of the search and the means of the search (pat-down, x-ray, etc.). An airport security screening search is constitutionally reasonable provided it “is no more extensive or intensive than necessary, in the light of current technology, to detect the presence of weapons or explosives … [and] is confined in good faith to that purpose. United States v. Aukai , 497 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2007) quoting Davis , 482 F.2d at 913. 

Where the checkpoint search is intended to detect ordinary criminal wrongdoing, however, the administrative search exception does not apply. Edmond, 531 U.S. at 41; Al-Kidd, 131 S.Ct. at 2081 (“[The] exception [does] not apply where the officer’s purpose is not to attend to the special needs or to the investigation for which the administrative inspection is justified.”). Checkpoint searches that are designed “primarily to serve the general interest in crime control” require a warrant or probable cause. Edmond, 531 U.S. at 42. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 811-12 (1996) (“[T]he exemption from the need for probable cause (and warrant), which is accorded to searches made for the purpose of inventory or administrative regulation, is not accorded to searches that are not made for those purposes.”) (emphasis in original). On this point, the Supreme Court was emphatic: “We have never approved a checkpoint program whose primary purpose was to detect evidence of ordinary criminal wrongdoing.” Edmond, 531 U.S. at 41 (emphasis added).

Cops Arrest Kids Home Alone | No Warrant, No Crime

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The LA County Sheriff’s Department recently showed up at a family’s home, entered without a warrant and then placed the teenage kids in handcuffs. No crime had been committed. No explanation was given. The family posted the surveillance footage on Tik Tok and it went viral. The sheriff’s department then responded, claiming that they received a call from a concerned citizen, and that upon arrival, the door was open.

Cops Destroy Ring Doorbell at Wrong House

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Imagine it’s winter time. You’re at home in Erie, Pennsylvania. There’s snow everywhere. Your Ring Doorbell alerts you to movement at your front door. It’s a SWAT team. They grab your doorbell camera and chuck it into the snow and then start to bust down your door. You’ve done nothing wrong. You’ve broken no law. You have no idea why they’re there. And neither do they apparently. What do you do? What is the law? 

It was March 12, 2023.Officers approach the house and notice the Ring doorbell and then they remove or destroy it. The homeowner got to the front door and confronted the officers. They told him to come outside, which he did.

Sadly, Lance, who submitted the footage, has early onset dementia. He explained this to the officers. He decided to take out his cell phone and begin filming their interaction – for his safety and theirs, of course. That’s when Lance’s cell phone footage begins. The cops absolutely did not want to be filmed, even though they were on Lance’s property, without a search warrant and without probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion, to believe that Lance had committed any crime at all. 

Searches and seizures which take place in a person’s home are presumptively unreasonable, which means they are illegal by default according to the Fourth Amendment. The only exceptions are consent and exigent circumstances. Here, the officers had no search warrant for this house. It also appears that they had no legitimate reason to believe that the fugitive they were looking for was inside the house. 

According to their own words, they received an anonymous tip that the fugitive could be inside the home. In reality, the fugitive had no connection whatsoever to the home. Anonymous tips cannot form the basis of probable cause. Which is why they didn’t have a warrant. They should have investigated the anonymous tip, in which case the officers would have discovered that it was not credible. Instead, they just got the boys together, rolled up on the house, destroyed private property and then commenced an illegal search. 

While the homeowner gave the officers consent to go inside the house, he subsequently revoked that consent after finding out that the officers were acting off a bogus anonymous tip. Moreover, they had already invaded the curtilage of the home and destroyed private property prior to obtaining that consent. They had no legal justification to do so and therein violated the Fourth Amendment. 

Lance is looking to file a lawsuit, if any Pennsylvania lawyers are interested in helping him. 

UPDATE: Since I made the video on this, Lance found out that the officers had first applied for a search warrant, based on the anonymous tip. That warrant was apparently denied by a judge as lacking probable cause. Then the officers showed up anyways. In the end, they were apparently at the wrong house. Not surprisingly…. Lance’s home had no connection to the fugitive they were looking for.

Cops Violate Fourth Amendment Over JAYWALKING Kids | Doorbell Cam

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This footage was submitted by a homeowner in Loraine, Ohio, showing police officers enter onto a woman’s private property and refusing to leave. They demand that she send her kids outside, because the officers allege that they observed them jaywalking. Her doorbell footage shows otherwise. I’ve previously discussed what you need to know when police are at your door.

Under the “knock and talk” exception to the warrant requirement, a police officer not armed with a warrant may approach a home and knock, precisely because that is “no more than any private citizen might do.” This means there is an “implicit license . . . to approach the home by the front path, knock promptly, wait briefly to be received, and then (absent invitation to linger longer) leave.” An officer may also bypass the front door (or another entry point usually used by visitors) when circumstances reasonably indicate that the officer might find the homeowner elsewhere on the property. “Critically, however, the right to knock and talk does not entail a right to conduct a general investigation of the home’s curtilage.”

Police officers, and anyone else really, have an implied license to come onto your property and knock on your door. This implied license can be revoked. Homeowners can prevent ordinary citizens and police officers alike from conducting a knock and talk by revoking their implied license to be there. However, few citizens know that an implied license exists. Generally, the courts require that a homeowner do so by clear demonstrations or express orders. For instance, asking someone to leave or refusing to answer questions. 

Here’s an excerpt of the police report in this particular case, posted with the original video:

On February 15th, 2023 I was operating as a member of the Lorain Patrol Impact Team targeting high crime areas throughout the City of Lorain, Ohio. I was driving an unmarked Ford Taurus equipped with emergency lights and sirens. I was also dressed in plain clothes with “Police” identifiers displayed on the exterior of my vest, making myself readily identifiable as a Police Officer. It should be known that ATF Special Agent Fabrizio was also in my patrol vehicle at this time. On this date at approximately 1539 hours, we were patrolling the intersection of W. 27th Street and Reid Avenue. It should be noted that on 7/26/2022 a shooting had occurred between a group of juveniles in the area of 126 W. 27th Street and the surrounding area is a known hot spot for shots fired incidents and weapons violation complaints. While patrolling this intersection, S.A. Fabrizio and I observed three males who appeared to be juveniles with there hands in both hooded sweatshirt pockets and their waistbands while looking around their immediate area. Through my prior training and experience, this type of behavior is an indicator that the person may be both armed and checking their surroundings.

S.A. Fabrizio and went around the block to the intersection of W. 27th Street and Broadway Avenue and observed the males illegally cross the road not in a posted cross walk and began approaching the residence of 126 W. 27th Street. Due to this observed traffic violation, I approached the above listed residence and activated my emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to initiate a traffic stop for this violation on the three individuals while they were approaching the house in the front yard. S.A. Fabrizio exited the passenger side and advised the males to stop and to come back to our patrol vehicle. The males acknowledged our presence by looking back at our patrol vehicle and quickly made their way up the front steps to the residence and entered and refused to exit. A female (later identified as Mary Hildreth) came to the front door and began yelling at both S.A. Fabrizio and I as well as asking what we were doing and what the problem was.

Officers Caught on Video Stealing $6,000 | Qualified Immunity?

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Here’s video of parole officers caught on video stealing cash from inside a house they are otherwise lawfully searching as law enforcement officers. Is that a civil rights violation? Can they be sued? Could they get qualified immunity? Just in general, if police officers steal something from you, does that violate your federal constitutional rights? 

On November 16, 2022 in Greece, New York, Shannon Carpenter and her boyfriend John Grandberry were getting ready for the day when there was a knock at the door shortly after 8 a.m. At the door were six state parole officers who announced they were there to search the house. Grandberry was on parole after serving prison time for a “criminal possession of a weapon” conviction. Four officers entered the house. Carpenter switched on a phone-activated web camera, aimed at the bed and closet. The camera recorded video of parole officers searching the house, eventually finding $6,000 in cash that was kept in a pair of pink Timberland boots. Here’s what happened.

Following the discovery of the items, around 9:30 a.m., one of the parole officers, identified by Carpenter as Doris Hernandez, appears to type a message on her phone and hand the phone to her colleague, an unidentified male officer. He glances at it, hands it back to her, and they whisper inaudibly. The male officer then peeps out the door before turning back to Hernandez. “We can share the money…,” he said. “You’re right,” Hernandez replied, pointing a finger gun at the other officer. “As long as there’s enough money to go around,” he said.

The incident has since become the basis for pending litigation brought by Carpenter and, according to the Greece Police Department, an investigation by New York State Police. Hernandez has since been suspended with pay, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which oversees the Parole Division. Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the agency, did not give a reason for Hernandez’s leave and did not respond to a question sent via email of whether the unidentified male officer had been suspended. Meanwhile, the search put Grandberry back behind bars. He is being held on violating parole for possessing a weapon, a scale, and drugs, according to the Monroe County Jail Census.

While this search and seizure must meet the reasonableness requirements of the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court has applied a balancing test to weigh the potential intrusion on a parolee’s privacy against the governmental interest at stake. See Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843, 848, 126 S.Ct. 2193, 165 L.Ed.2d 250 (2006); U.S. v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112, 118, 122 S.Ct. 587, 151 L.Ed.2d 497 (2001). 

The Court has explained that parolees “do not enjoy ‘the absolute liberty to which every citizen is entitled, but only … conditional liberty properly dependent on observance of special [probation] restrictions.’ ” Griffin v. Wisconsin, 483 U.S. 868, 874, 107 S.Ct. 3164, 97 L.Ed.2d 709 (1987) (citing Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 480, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972)). 

Therefore, a parolee’s diminished expectation of privacy is justified by the state’s substantial interest in the supervision of its parolees and the prevention of recidivism. Samson, 547 U.S. at 850, 855, 126 S.Ct. 2193.

In 2019, in the case of Jessop v. Fresno, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Court decided that two police officers in Fresno, California, who allegedly stole more than $225,000 in assets while executing a search warrant, could not be sued over the incident. Though “the City Officers ought to have recognized that the alleged theft was morally wrong,” the unanimous 9th Circuit panel said, the officers “did not have clear notice that it violated the Fourth Amendment.”

We recognize that the allegation of any theft by police officers—most certainly the theft of over $225,000—is deeply disturbing. Whether that conduct violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures, however, would not “be ‘clear to a reasonable officer.’” 

The SCOTUS later declined to hear the case. As of now no Second Circuit opinions have cited Jessop. 

The 4th Circuit in the 2004 case of Mom’s Inc. v. Willman was the only prior federal circuit to address the issue of whether it was a 4th Amendment violation for law enforcement to steal items otherwise lawfully confiscated during a search. 

Here’s information regarding the lawsuit we just filed against West Virginia parole officers:

https://wvrecord.com/stories/639193739-another-lawsuit-filed-related-to-sexual-misconduct-of-state-parole-officers

UPDATE: Family Court Judge Search Case – IMPEACHED?

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Huge news this week. Apparently the West Virginia legislature has initiated impeachment proceedings against the family court judge we sued in federal court. More than that, the basis for the impeachment is actually the judge’s responses to my questions to her during her deposition in the civil lawsuit.

A West Virginia Family Court Judge is the subject of an impeachment resolution to be introduced by the WV House of Delegates on Monday following the commission of a warrantless search which violated, among other things, Constitutional rights of West Virginia citizens….

A March 1, 2021, deposition saw Goldston declare, under oath, “I don’t believe I violated the canons of ethics.”

When asked specifically whether she regretted physically entering Gibson’s home, Goldston responded, “Do I think I did anything wrong? No.”

https://www.lootpress.com/wv-family-court-judge-to-face-impeachment/

Watch the last update video:

Cop Points Gun at Man’s Head During Traffic Stop | Know Your Rights – Not Misinformation

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There is a video showing a female cop suddenly pull her pistol and point it at a driver’s head during a routine traffic stop. Then there was a subsequent video providing commentary and advice about the situation. However, the information was incorrect. There’s unfortunately a lot of misinformation floating around about the rights of vehicle occupants during traffic stops. It’s important to know your actual rights and not misinformation that could really cause you some serious problems.

What are your basic constitutional rights at a traffic stop?

The Fourth Amendment prohibits police officers from prolonging a traffic stop beyond the time necessary to investigate (and write a ticket for) a traffic violation unless the officers have reasonable suspicion that the stopped vehicle’s occupants are engaging in other crimes. Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348, 354-56 (2015).

Officers may detain the driver only for the time necessary to complete the tasks associated with the reason for the stop. The Supreme Court has provided a list of acceptable tasks that are connected generally to safety and driver responsibility:

Officers will usually question a driver about the traffic infraction; they will run the driver’s license plate; they will request and review the vehicle’s registration and insurance; they will check for outstanding warrants; and lastly they will write a ticket. Officers also commonly question drivers about their travel plans. So long as they do so during the time that they undertake the traffic-related tasks for the infraction that justifies the stop (Arizona v. Johnson), officers may also ask questions about whether the driver has drugs or weapons in the car, or even walk a drug-sniffing dog around the car (Illinois v. Caballes). These unrelated tasks turn a reasonable stop into an unreasonable seizure if it “prolongs” the stop. Officers may not avoid this rule by “slow walking” the traffic-related aspects of the stop to get more time to investigate other potential crimes. 

Once the traffic-related basis for the stop ends (or reasonably should have ended), the officer must justify any further “seizure” on a reasonable suspicion that the driver is committing those other crimes. See Hernandez v. Boles (6th Cir. 2020).

Additionally, “a police officer may as a matter of course order the driver of a lawfully stopped car to exit his vehicle.” Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408, 410, 117 S.Ct. 882, 137 L.Ed.2d 41 (1997) (citing Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 98 S.Ct. 330, 54 L.Ed.2d 331 (1977) (per curiam)). That rule, the justification for which is officer safety, extends to passengers, as well. Wilson, 519 U.S. at 414–15, 117 S.Ct. 882. (United States  v. Vaughan, 700 F.3d 705 (4th Cir. 2012)).

As for the 9th Circuit, where this encounter took place, “pointing guns at persons who are compliant and present no danger is a constitutional violation.” Thompson v. Rahr, 885 F.3d 582 (9th Cir. 2018) (citing Baird v. Renbarger , 576 F.3d 340, 346 (7th Cir. 2009)).

We do not discount the concern for officer safety when facing a potentially volatile situation. But where the officers have an unarmed felony suspect under control, where they easily could have handcuffed the suspect while he was sitting on the squad car, and where the suspect is not in close proximity to an accessible weapon, a gun to the head constitutes excessive force.

Original video here.

Review video with the misinformation here.

SWAT Raids Grandma’s Home Over iPhone App

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Imagine your 77 year old grandmother sitting at home one day and an entire SWAT team shows up and raids her house, just because someone’s stolen iPhone supposedly pings at the location. No phone call, no knock and talk, no investigation at all. Just SWAT team. Well that happened. 

It was January 4, 2022. Ruby Johnson, 77 years old, a law-abiding citizen and grandmother, was alone at her home. She lives in a neighborhood called Montbello – considered to be one of Denver’s minority neighborhoods, located in northeast Denver, Colorado. Denver Police SWAT executed a search warrant at her home, looking for a stolen vehicle and guns, based entirely on Apple tracking software, “Find My iPhone.” They found nothing and achieved nothing but the contempt they earned from the victim, her family and others in the neighborhood. 

The day before the raid, a 2007 white Chevy truck with Texas license plates was stolen from a downtown Denver hotel parking garage. The driver rammed it through the gate and fled. Inside was $4,000 cash, two drones and an iPhone 11. Hours later, the hotel notified the guest who owned the truck and he began tracking the iPhone via the Find My iPhone app. The app supposedly led to Ruby Johnson’s home, before it disappeared. 

Based solely on that, the Denver Police Department obtained a search warrant. They chose not to conduct any surveillance or other investigation at the location. They didn’t even bother to drive by the house to see if the stolen truck was there. Or maybe even next door. Nor did they bother to even go perform one of their beloved “knock and talks” at the actual location where the phone pinged. Instead, they activated the SWAT team. Just to be safe, of course. It is a minority neighborhood, after all….

About a dozen Denver SWAT officers poured into the home. They sifted through boxes with the help of a K-9 unit. They used a battering ram to try to open the rear garage door. They broke down the attic door. They also cut the lock to her shed.

Officer Joe Montoya, the head stormtrooper, in an interview with channel 9 news, said officers researched the property and knew 77 year old Ruby Johnson lived at the home alone, which is why they used the “lowest threshold of aggression.” If this SWAT team, along with an armored vehicle, is their lowest threshold of aggression, I’d say their higher thresholds must involve those new-fangled exploding robots. Officer Montoya, like a good government trooper, was just following orders. They’re just doing what stormtroopers do. It’s up to prosecutors and judges to stop them. They have no minds of their own. Here’s what he said: 

“I’m not going to second guess the investigation,” he said. “The proper steps were taken. The place where that would have been questioned would have been the DA’s Office and the judge’s level. And they felt comfortable signing that warrant.”

So what about them? Denver Deputy District Attorney Ashley Beck and Judge Beth Faragher both approved the warrant. Kristin Wood, a spokesperson for Denver County Court, said: “Judge Faragher signed the search warrant because she found probable cause existed,” Wood wrote in an email. “If a judge did not find probable cause, he/she would not sign the search warrant.” Prosecutor Beck also would not directly comment. Instead, a spokesperson wrote in an email that the warrant passed legal muster: “I can tell you that our office is obligated to review every search warrant the Denver Police Department writes to ensure it is legally sufficient based on the facts to which the detective swears,” Carolyn Tyler wrote in an email. 

So, at least through their spokespersons, the officers blame the judge and prosecutor; the judge blames the prosecutor and officers, and the prosecutor blames the officers and the judge. This is perfectly representative of the efficiency and competency of your government. This is why the DMV runs so smoothly and is your favorite place to visit. 

It’s true though that there are two important things to look at when reviewing warrants:

  1. The information provided by law enforcement, under oath, to the judge reviewing the allegations for probable cause; and 
  2. Whether those allegations are sufficient to comprise probable cause for the issuance of the warrant. 

Looking at the actual search warrant application, completed by Detective Gary Staab, it appears that he relied solely on representations made to him by the owner of the stolen items and did absolutely nothing himself. He notes in the application to the judge that the owner told him that the iPhone pinged to the house and that he drove by the location in a rented vehicle, but that he did not see his stolen truck there. 

However, the application notes, theoretically, the stolen phone could be inside the closed garage at the residence. Also theoretically, which the detective notes in his copy and paste warrant, his vast experience tells him that stolen items can be removed from a stolen vehicle and theoretically placed in a garage. 

That’s pretty much it. He includes a copy of the owner’s Find My iPhone screenshot and his photos of the residence. The detective did nothing himself. Instead of actually going and knocking on the door, talking to people – you know, detective work – let’s just activate the SWAT team and bust down the door. It’s a black neighborhood, after all. Guns were stolen. Therefore we have black people with guns, potentially. Better bring the armored vehicle as well. Yes she’s a 77 year old grandmother with no criminal history. But you never know. Officers have to make it home that night. 

As officers searched her home, Ruby Johnson waited in the back seat of a police car. She told channel 9 news afterwards that the experience was traumatizing and led her to feel unsafe in the home she has lived in for about 40 years. “When I start thinking about it, tears start coming down,” she said. Ruby’s longtime friends have noticed a sadness they hadn’t seen in her before. They don’t see her smile anymore. 

Officer Joe Montoya, division chief of investigations with DPD, said the department did not intend to harm Johnson and regrets that the warrant caused suffering. 

“We can always apologize and I’d be willing to apologize that there was a warrant issued and evidence was not found there,” Montoya said. “That’s a given, but I don’t think there was anything done to intentionally traumatize her.”

They just don’t get it, do they? They chose to obtain a search warrant and send a SWAT team there. They knew that the only person who lived there was a 77 year old woman who was a law abiding citizen. Yet they sent a SWAT team there first, instead of treating the woman as Officer Montoya no doubt would want his own grandmother treated. They chose to traumatize her. Because they only think of themselves. Officer safety is the only thing that matters to them. 

By the way, the stolen truck was later recovered two days after the warrant was executed about six miles away in Aurora. The stolen guns were not in the truck, of course. No arrests have been made. 

The point here is, this is a prime example of the fact that police and government misconduct can happen to you, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. This was all done lawfully. Valid search warrant. Valid search. Innocent victim. Wrong house. No stolen items found. This will continue to happen because police officers are not held accountable for their actions. Prosecutors are not held accountable for their actions. And judges certainly aren’t held accountable for their actions. I can guarantee you these things would stop happening if qualified immunity was abolished. If prosecutorial absolute immunity was abolished. If judicial immunity was abolished. But as it is now, they just don’t care, because there are no consequences. The only thing we can do is expose what they’ve done. 

Officers Lose Their Trophies | They Chose Poorly…

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In the Fall of 2020, David Craft, who then lived in Statesville, North Carolina, killed a monster buck in McDowell County, West Virginia, and also killed another trophy buck back in North Carolina, during the same season. David is a serious deer hunter. He does his homework; he puts in the time. He gets result. But others get jealous. Law enforcement ended up essentially stealing his antlers, posing with them for the media, dragging him through over a year of frivolous criminal prosecution, and then abruptly dropping the charging just prior to the jury trial, when it turned out they had no evidence.

Apparently accusations began to fly in early 2021. West Virginia wildlife officers, or DNR officers, from McDowell County completely ran with unfounded suspicions or allegations that David’s North Carolina buck was actually killed in West Virginia, which would be a violation due to the fact that he had already killed this monster trophy buck there, and you can’t kill two – just one. Then, while they’re at it, they for some reason conclude that the trophy monster buck must have been illegally killed somehow, either with a crossbow instead of a regular bow, or because it must have been killed on the jealous neighboring hunt club’s land. Either way, a bunch of bros in West Virginia, law enforcement included, wanted those antlers. So they dream up a story of some sinister plot to deprive McDowell County good ‘ole boys of their rightful trophy bucks, removing them to the undeserving state of North Carolina.

Why did they want them? To show them off of course. In 2022, no mere peasant can post trophy buck brag photos online – just law enforcement. A quick review of social media shows that wildlife officers in West Virginia have really gotten into this. 

Ultimately, the charges were dismissed, apparently due to a complete and total lack of evidence. A jury trial was set to occur on April 28, 2022. But on April 21, 2022, the prosecutor moved to dismiss all charges, which was granted by the Court. 

Looking back at the February 26, 2021 media report about David, let’s look at what they said back then. 

“Like a lot of things the investigation started with help from people in the community. That’s our greatest resource for information. We received information of possibly two bucks being taken illegally,” said Natural Resources Police Officer Jonathan Gills in McDowell County.” 

“According to Gills, once they learned the suspect was from North Carolina they reached out to officers with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.” “They were a HUGE help to us, said Gills. 

“Officers from the two agencies were able to come up with photographs and other physical evidence in the case which proved both bucks were killed in West Virginia. Turned out one of the bucks in question was actually checked in as being killed in North Carolina. Now, North Carolina investigators are closely watching the West Virginia case and the individual will likely face charges in his home state as well.” 

Gills said the evidence also showed both bucks were killed with a crossbow” and that “crossbows are not allowed in those four archery-only hunting counties unless the hunter has a Class Y hunting permit.”

Gills also told the media, “We’ve been sent a lot of photos and there are a lot of folks who are upset these deer were taken.” 

However, looking at the actual investigation report received in response to our FOIA request, they provided only a single grainy photo of a single deer, and it could be a great Bigfoot photo, looking almost photoshopped and inconclusive either way. Additionally, there is no mention of any involvement of North Carolina officers, other than the accompanying then to David’s house and then assisting them in seizing the antlers from the taxidermist. They didn’t appear to have provided any evidence at all against David, nor made any allegation that he had committed any crime. 

Thus the photographs and physical evidence Officer Gill claimed to possess, proving that both bucks were killed illegally in West Virginia, just didn’t exist. That was false. As the February, 2021 article goes on to say, this appears to have been more about local hunters, including law enforcement officers, trying to keep outsiders away from their deer. Officer Gill goes on to say in the article that the West Virginia legislature had recently drastically increased the so-called “replacement costs” for trophy bucks illegally killed. “Gills said it was a major weapon to deter poaching of big bucks in his county,” the article said.

“Our department was given a great asset with that. Basically, they’re stealing the deer. They’re stealing quality bucks from legitimate hunters; men, women, and kids who are trying to go out and enjoy the sport.” 

So, just because David was living in North Carolina, despite the fact that he bought a license, which mind you is way more expensive for an out-of-state hunter, he’s somehow not a “legitimate” hunter. He had a license, with which he killed one buck in West Virginia. He had a North Carolina license, with which he killed on buck in North Carolina. Both were properly checked in and all that rigamarole. This seems to have been more about hunters in one particular county protecting their trophy bucks from outsiders. 

The article ended, “So far, no court date for the suspect had been set.” Not surprisingly, there was never a follow-up article. They did no press release mentioning that they had to drop the charges and were forced to return both sets of antlers to David. But even when he got them back, the attached capes were ruined.

Here, they drug David through the mud and criminal prosecution for over a year. Then when it came time to present the evidence to a jury, they walked away. No apology, no compensation – just returned his damaged antlers. They got their photo-op. Officer Gills got to play with the antlers for a while, but he had to give them back. So that’s how this thing started.

Sounded great, right? The politicians probably loved it. The hunters back home probably loved it. But here’s how it’s going now. 

Also now, Officer Gills and Officer Damewood are going to have to answer for their actions in a section 1983 lawsuit. We have multiple constitutional violations that appear to have occurred here. I’ll provide an update with the details when the suit is filed. Wouldn’t it also be nice if the government would issue an updated press release about how this ended? If you just read the last one, it sounds like they got the bad guy and kept the antlers. If you just read the last one, David sounds like a real criminal. And the officers all sound like heroes. Let’s go ahead and set the record straight.

Update: Court Rules on Video Depositions and Youtube

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This is a case where plain-clothed police officers snuck into my client’s house through a window, searched his house without a warrant or other legal justification, found nothing and left. But they got caught on hidden surveillance cameras. 

Long story short, there was no justification for their actions. No search warrant, no exigent circumstances and certainly no consent. Those are the only three justifications under the Fourth Amendment. As it turned out, the only purported reason they were there was to serve a civil summons, as the landlord had begun eviction proceedings due to late rent payments. That provided no justification to enter or search the home. The matter had not gone to court yet. There was no eviction order. The officers were investigated and disciplined. The only excuse given was that they didn’t read the paperwork, and thought there was an eviction order, and figured that since they’re a drug task force, they’d search for drugs while they were at it. We filed a federal Section 1983 suit for Fourth Amendment violations and are currently set for trial early next year.

The last update was about the video depositions in the case. I took the video depositions of the officers from the video. They all pled the Fifth Amendment. Supposedly the FBI is investigating them. It’s pretty clear now after having exchanged discovery and taken almost all the depositions, that this is the story of a drug task force unit designed to use so-called “knock and talk” investigations in lieu of the more-conventional and old-fashioned search warrant procedures.

The video depositions were pretty dramatic. The lawyers for the officers filed a motion for a protective order with the federal court, asking the Court to prohibit me from uploading the video deposition footage to Youtube. They claimed that exposing the sworn testimony of the police officers to the public endangered officer safety and prejudiced the in the eyes of potential future jurors. 

A few days ago, the Court ruled, granting them a protective order during the pendency of the case. Then, when the case is over, I have to request the Court to vacate the protective order. But as the Court noted, a few things could happen in the meantime that could moot the issue, such as a settlement agreement, or the video depositions becoming public record, which they ultimately will in the very near future. Here’s the order:

The Court stated: 

“[T]he Court currently is not in a position to determine whether the protective order should terminate upon adjudication of the case, as that determination depends upon factors not yet known. The issue may become moot, as it is possible that the parties will agree not to publish the videotaped depositions as part of a compromise and settlement. The depositions may also become part of the public record, creating a presumption of public access which would significantly alter the Court’s analysis of the protective order .”

The Court further held that the protective order was not an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech. The Court noted that: 

“The Supreme Court explicitly stated that a protective order supported by good cause and limited to pretrial civil discovery, without restricting dissemination of information found in other sources, does not offend the First Amendment.”

The Court also denied the defendants’ request for attorney fees, finding that my actions were “substantially justified.” 

As I warned them from the very beginning, trying to suppress this is only going to draw more attention to it. Even if I personally am restricting from uploading the footage to my Youtube channel, what about third parties? Restricting me from using the footage is only going to cause third parties to obtain everything that becomes public record and use it. The coverup is always worse than the original crime. The coverup itself becomes the story.