E911 prank call, I thought...

[turnkey4099]

Just check with your local authorities and see what they have the power to do in the case of non-responsive 911 calls..

Yep. A certified LEO has not only the 'right' but the 'duty' to enter any premises to investigate a crime in progress. 911 calls are 'crime in progress'.

Harry K

 

[jimmyj]

Sorry, I misunderstood.

 

[USMC.27]

And what many people do not realize is that if your phone dials 911 and there is no response... you have absolutely NO rights to privacy...the police have the right to enter and search your home without a warrant of any kind...

This is not entirely true, at least in Texas. We still have to abide by the 4th amendment. A 911 call gives leo's the reasonable suspicion to respond and investigate, however we would still need probable cause to enter someone's home to further that investigations. Generally if there is nothing wrong we receive cooperation and are invited into the home. If we are met with resistance then this is another fact that is used to build the P.C. There is an exception called exigent circumstances, i.e. you approach the door and see violence being committed, or you can hear that there is a disturbance taking place. In these type situations we can enter the residence if we are acting on good faith that an offense is being committed.

 

[Ken45101]

For those who are so wary of police doing a thorough investigation, consider the possibility that a couple of thugs are inside your house, holding you hostage, raping your wife. The police knock on the door and one of them answers the door and tells the officer that everything is okay and yes, he is the homeowner, and no, the officer may not come in. The officer accepts his assurances and goes back on patrol....

Or the also more common situation where husband is beating the wife, answers the door and tells the officer to go away.....

I know there are no perfect answers, but I believe there is a reasonable middle ground that both sides need to respect.

Ken

 

[/pine]

This is not entirely true, at least in Texas....

actually you changed the circumstances from what I stated...the key being "non-responsive"...meaning if they get no response following the initial 911 call...that is what gives them the right to enter a residence (no response)

 

[Taylortractornut]

Had it happen here wit hthe wet phine lines had a young cocky officer. What got him a a but chewing was he wanted to check the cooler in my sercie truck for beer. I had a fresh load of water waiting for work. Seems the day before had seen me comming home from state line ,wet county. It didnt seem to matter that I worked in Al at the time

We had wert lines, and an old cell phone. And that was what happend, I talked to the sheriff and he told me he would disipline the officer for dumping out my water cooler looking for beer. And for questioning me why I was up at 3 am. It didnt dawn on him that I had to drive 100 miles to work and be there at 5 am.

 

[brin]

If there is a 911 call to the police for my home and they are not satisfied witht he answer they get by someone answering my door...I sure hope they question further..I am as cynical as any of you but I sure don't mind proving to the officer who I am and having him speak to my wife and verify...just like a previous poster stated ...what if we were being held hostage...hey it happens..I will cooperate fully until given a reason not to and will be forever grateful for the police officers that help us in a time of need...but I will also be vigilant to protect my rights...We all have to work together.

 

[MikeD74T]

It is a common occurrance for (mostly older) cordless phones to malfunction and call 911 when their batteries are weak or dying...also moisture on the lines outside your residence can aslo cause the phones to malfunction...

And what many people do not realize is that if your phone dials 911 and there is no response... you have absolutely NO rights to privacy...the police have the right to enter and search your home without a warrant of any kind...

in most cases if your phone malfunctions and calls 911 they will call the return number and check....but when they get a non responsive 911 call they are coming in and check it out

Around here, in small town NH, that's exactly the attitude that gets police budgets voted down for new equipment, raises, etc. I don't recall the Constitution giving police any specific rights. What ever happened to the concept of public servants... oh - the other 9/11 rescinded that. In Florida there's 2 men currently suing a police department for their actions at an incorrect 911 response. Those officers were on unpaid suspension last I knew.

For what it's worth both officers were obviously uncomfortable during this situation and I didn't offer anything to make them more uncomfortable. Knowing the rest of the story made it understandable why they left suddenly & without explanation. Actually when asked if she was OK, my wife expressed concern for whoever else might have made the call & whether the officers shouldn't be moving on to the real problem. Moments later they did.

Personally I'd opt out of E911 & it's expense if I could. I do remember when you could call the police & fire departments directly AND knew who you were talking to. It's 100% anonymous now. MikeD74T

 

[Big Bri]

my wife and i were woken at about 3am by 2 officers at our door, said they were there on a 911 hang up. i told them we didn't dial, and that we don't even own a home phone and that they must have the wrong house. after confirming my address they said that my house was where the hang up came from. they asked me to step out side with one officer while the other went in and talked to my wife and kids to make sure everything was ok. after seeing that nothing was wrong they left. One of the officers stopped by my business the next after noon and in formed me that the local phone company had some problem where some dsl lines were dialing 911.

 

[TheGoose]

It troubles me that someone can call 911 from OUTSIDE my home and that gives the police supposedly the right to just barge on in like that. Remember, the O.P. said that the perps were on a CELL phone. The call didn't even originate from inside their home.