Law Enforcement Bulletin 

Question: What do you need to state in an affidavit in support of a warrant when most of the information came from a confidential informant?
 
Quick Answer: When information comes from a confidential informant, you need to state how you corroborated the information and why the confidential informant is reliable.

Question: Can you stop a vehicle based on an anonymous tip even though you personally did not see evidence of a crime?
 
Quick Answer: Yes, but only when the tip, based on the detail of the information and surrounding circumstances, is credible.

Human relation skills are vital for in the law enforcement field, helping you interact with citizens, criminals, victims, informants, and people in crisis. The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy will offer several such courses this summer. Here’s a sampling.

Question: Do you have reasonable suspicion to make a traffic stop if a driver fails to continuously signal 100 feet before a turn and claims he was unable to follow the law?
 
Quick Answer: Yes. Your observation that the driver violated the rule is enough. Any excuse the motorist has is something that can be considered a defense in court, but does not negate the fact the law was broken.

Question: Can you stop an individual and conduct a search if you believe the person is up to no good?
 
Quick Answer: No, you have no right to stop people on a hunch. You must have a specific reason to believe the person is engaged in criminal activity.

Question: What is the “hot pursuit” exception, and when does it apply?  
 
Quick Answer: “Hot pursuit” lets you pursue a fleeing suspect into a home, without a warrant, if you have identified yourself as a law enforcement officer and are in actual pursuit of a suspect.

A gunman opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport last November and shot Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez 12 times at point-blank range before continuing on his shooting spree.

Question: When you stop someone based on an unreliable tip, can you use evidence from the stop to get a search warrant for the driver’s house?
 
Quick Answer: No. You can only stop a car if you have reasonable suspicion, and reasonable suspicion can’t be based on an unreliable tip. If the stop is no good, you can’t use evidence found during the stop to get a warrant. Anything the warrant turns up is “fruit of the poisonous tree.” 
State v. Robinson, Ninth Appellate District, Summit County, Feb. 19, 2014

Question: If you get a warrant to search computers for child pornography but only find instant message chat logs detailing sexual activity with a minor, do those logs fall under the scope of your warrant?

Quick Answer: Maybe. Because the instant message chat logs detailing sexual activity with a minor were found on the computer, and a computer is normally where electronic pornography would be stored, seizing the chat records could have been within the scope of the warrant.

Question: If you don’t follow proper protocol when conducting an impound inventory, have you performed a warrantless search?
 
Quick Answer: Yes. If you don’t follow standard operating procedure for an inventory, a court may throw out any evidence you found.

Testifying in court is one of your duties as a law enforcement officer. Some officers love it; some hate it. But either way, you should know how to do it right. Here are three quick tips you can use to improve your testimony.

Question: Is an officer’s “pacing” of a vehicle sufficient to create reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle for speeding?
 
Quick Answer: Yes, but only if the officer can show that he maintained a constant distance between vehicles for a sufficient amount of time.

Question: Can you pat down a suspect a second time based on his behavior following the first pat-down?
 
Quick Answer: A suspect may be patted down a second time if he continues to act suspiciously, even after a previous pat-down was performed and nothing was found.

Question: Is an anonymous informant’s tip enough to create the reasonable suspicion necessary to stop a suspect, even without corroborating evidence?
 
Quick Answer: Usually, no. But when the officer has significant reason to believe the informant is genuinely concerned and credible, a court might treat the informant like an identified citizen and ignore the lack of corroboration.

Bob has schizophrenia. Though he had just been released from a mental health hospital, he skipped his follow-up appointment and instead went to a grocery store, where he was shaking and harassing customers. His unruly behavior would typically have gotten him arrested. But, the officers who responded to the call took a different approach. They talked to Bob. They found out he hadn’t been taking his medications, and they got him to agree to meet with his case manager. The officers took Bob back to the hospital and then to his home for his medications. At Bob’s home, the situation escalated when he refused to take his medication and went for a knife.

The career of police officer was named the 10th most stressful job in the United States for 2013 by CareerCast, a career and job opportunity website that provides annual rankings.

Question: Is there a penalty for pulling someone over for a misdemeanor traffic violation outside of your jurisdiction?
 
Quick Answer: Technically yes, however, for evidence to be excluded, the stop must be in violation of the individual’s constitutional rights.

Question: If you want to search multiple open booths in a flea market, how many warrants do you need?
 
Quick Answer: One warrant is needed if all of the booths are contained in a single-use, single-story building.

Question: If you have obtained the location of a suspect through GPS and a cell phone, does the cell phone evidence get suppressed if it is determined the GPS evidence was improperly obtained?
 
Quick Answer: No. If the cell phone data was properly obtained under a warrant and supported by independent evidence, it will not be suppressed.

Question: Is a photo array unduly suggestive if all of those pictured do not look similar to the suspect?
 
Quick Answer: No. Photo arrays are not required to contain photos of people who look identical to the suspect, but should be based on the description given by the witness.

Question: Have you made a valid arrest even though the prosecutor does not charge the suspect with the crime you arrested him for because the facts ultimately do not support the arrest?
 
Quick Answer: Yes, if the officer believes at the time of the arrest there is probable cause criminal activity is occurring.

Question: If your search and seizure of a suspect has been determined invalid, is the evidence you found still able to be used for a conviction?
 
Quick Answer: No, if the evidence is “fruit of the poisonous tree.”

Question: Is circumstantial evidence enough to arrest someone when there is no hard evidence that the person committed a crime?
 
Quick Answer: Yes, circumstantial evidence can be used when it is inferred from reasonable and justifiably connected facts to support a finding of criminal activity.

Question: Is the act of blocking a path of exit to a suspect a minimally intrusive Terry stop or a seizure?
 
Quick Answer: The act of blocking a suspect’s path of exit constitutes a seizure, unless a reasonable person would believe he was free to leave.

Question: Do suspects have a right to privacy in a law enforcement interrogation room?
 
Quick Answer: Typically no, but if a recording device is hidden and a reasonable person would believe the room was not monitored, the suspect may have an expectation of privacy.