"KNOCK AND WALK"

Context:
The Portland Police conducted some 400 "knock and talk" searches last year.
In a number of cases, suspects let the police in and were caught red-handed.

No law shall violate the right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search, or seizure; and
no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath, or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
person or thing to be seized.
--Article I, Section 9, of the Oregon Constitution

It's the public--not the police--that is most likely to be harmed by
warrantless searches.

Last week's fatal shooting of an on-duty Portland police officer was a
tragedy--not only for the officer, her family and the rest of the police
force, but for every Portlander whose sense of security was violated by
Steven Douglas Dons' bullets.

Officer Colleen Waibel's death and the injuries to officers Kim Keist and
Jim Hudson also heightened public awareness of a police tactic in the War
on Drugs: searches in which police knock on the doors of houses and ask
occupants if they can look around. The police frequently resort to this
type of search when they suspect illegal drug activity but lack sufficient
evidence to obtain a search warrant. Such "knock and talks," as they are
called, clearly push the envelope of constitutional protection.

If, during a knock and talk, the occupant withholds consent, police may
enter a house without a warrant if "exigent circumstances" are present.
There may be commotion inside, possibly indicating destruction of evidence.
Toilets may be heard flushing. The smell of marijuana may be in the air.
Officers Waibel, Keist and Hudson apparently were relying on such
justification last week when they picked up a paving stone and smashed down
Dons' door after he failed to respond to repeated knocks.

In light of what's been learned about Dons in the past week, it's hard to
feel much concern for his constitutional rights. At the same time, it's
clear that, while knock-and-talk searches may be appropriate
law-enforcement tools, they also result in improper invasions of people's
homes.

If Portland learns anything from last week's police shootings, it should be
this: Unless they perceive that someone inside the house is in imminent
danger, police should back off when an attempt at a knock-and-talk search
fails. In such instances, they should be instructed not to rely on exigent
circumstances, but to obtain search warrants instead.

Such "knock-and-walk" procedures might protect police from the sorts of
deadly surprises that occurred last week. They would also ensure protection
of our basic rights.

If the cost of protecting our constitutional rights is that a couple of
marijuana growers are allowed to incinerate their plants, so be it.