No more Mr. Nice Guy
The Utah Supreme Court held today that a Provo police officer who tried to play the role of a Good Samaritan by providing a shoeless and jacket-less man with some protection from 20-degree weather violated the man's Fourth Amendment rights.
In State v. Peterson, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Utah Court of Appeals and held that evidence of illegal drug use seized by a Provo police officer in 2001 should be suppressed because the officer found the drugs only after retrieving a man's coat and shoes to protect him from the 20-degree weather outside. This is a weird case all around: When police entered the Provo home, the man was hiding in a closet. The Utah Supreme Court seemed to think the officer should not have retrieved the man's own jacket, in which the drugs were found, but should have (1) given him a blanket, or (2) given him a police jacket, or (3) put him in back of a police car.
In State v. Peterson, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Utah Court of Appeals and held that evidence of illegal drug use seized by a Provo police officer in 2001 should be suppressed because the officer found the drugs only after retrieving a man's coat and shoes to protect him from the 20-degree weather outside. This is a weird case all around: When police entered the Provo home, the man was hiding in a closet. The Utah Supreme Court seemed to think the officer should not have retrieved the man's own jacket, in which the drugs were found, but should have (1) given him a blanket, or (2) given him a police jacket, or (3) put him in back of a police car.
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