KNOCK IT OFF, DEPUTIES

Orange County's "Knock And Talk" Policy Ignores Constitutional
Protections.

Would you say "no" to police if they came to your door and asked to
enter because they had a tip that there was illegal activity going
on?

Many people would assume they didn't have a choice and allow the
officers to come inside. But in America, people do have a choice. That
is why Florida's 5th District Court of Appeal was right Friday when it
ruled against a tactic that the Orange County Sheriff's Office used to
enter a house without a search warrant. The defendant, who pleaded
guilty on two drug charges, said she let deputies inside because she
didn't think there was any alternative.

Deputies use "knock and talk" to get inside when they don't have
enough information to get a warrant. That approach stomps on the U.S.
Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable
searches" -- a core issue for the patriots who fought the British
during the American Revolution.

When police bend the Constitution, they invite abuse. That occurred in
the late 1980s when former Volusia County Sheriff Bob Vogel used
similar coercive tactics to search cars driven by minorities and seize
cash without making drug arrests.

Despite that concern, Orange County sheriff's officials stubbornly
insist they will keep routinely using "knock and talk." That approach
isn't embraced by all police. The Seminole County Sheriff's Office
rarely uses that tactic. Seminole Chief Deputy Steve Harriett said:
"We understand and appreciate the Fourth Amendment . . . and we're
sensitive to that." Other agencies should heed his words.