Not sure which category is best, so I'm posting this under self defense.
Saw "police women of Cincinnati" on Discovery on Thursday night. Two female officers responded to a complaint of a loud party with underage drinking. They knock on the door - no answer. They knock harder, and yell "we can see you in there". You can see that they are putting dents in the metal front door. Finally, two young men open the door, walk onto the porch, and close the door behind them. One officer starts yelling at them to open the door so they can see inside. One guy tells the other "don't open the door - you don't have to unless she has a warrant". The two young men are not rude, but they are not offering to cooperate with the officers. The lead officer gets very belligerent: "Is he a lawyer? Open the door NOW! I'll charge you with obstructing. Do you want to go to jail?" The young guys are not doing anything threatening. Finally, one guy gives in, opens the door, and the officers walk in and clear the place. They cuffed the guys, but ultimately released them.
Since there was no apparent threat, it seems to me that the officers were overstepping their authority by demanding that the door be opened. I'm also sympathetic to the officers' desire to make sure that nobody was waiting behind the door to ambush them, and they also need to respond to the complaint.
Did anyone else see this? Were the occupants within their rights to refuse to open the door? If they did refuse, how could / should the officers have responded, given the nature of the complaint and the fact that no one was in any apparent danger?
Saw "police women of Cincinnati" on Discovery on Thursday night. Two female officers responded to a complaint of a loud party with underage drinking. They knock on the door - no answer. They knock harder, and yell "we can see you in there". You can see that they are putting dents in the metal front door. Finally, two young men open the door, walk onto the porch, and close the door behind them. One officer starts yelling at them to open the door so they can see inside. One guy tells the other "don't open the door - you don't have to unless she has a warrant". The two young men are not rude, but they are not offering to cooperate with the officers. The lead officer gets very belligerent: "Is he a lawyer? Open the door NOW! I'll charge you with obstructing. Do you want to go to jail?" The young guys are not doing anything threatening. Finally, one guy gives in, opens the door, and the officers walk in and clear the place. They cuffed the guys, but ultimately released them.
Since there was no apparent threat, it seems to me that the officers were overstepping their authority by demanding that the door be opened. I'm also sympathetic to the officers' desire to make sure that nobody was waiting behind the door to ambush them, and they also need to respond to the complaint.
Did anyone else see this? Were the occupants within their rights to refuse to open the door? If they did refuse, how could / should the officers have responded, given the nature of the complaint and the fact that no one was in any apparent danger?