United States v. Quarterman, No. 16-4519 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseIf officers legally enter a home based on a potential threat posed by a gun, they may do a limited search for it in order to prevent harm. If officers have an objectively reasonable basis that some immediate act is required to preserve the safety of others or themselves, they do not also need probable cause. The Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's motion to suppress a gun that police seized from a holster in his waist when they entered defendant's apartment without a warrant. The court held that the warrantless entry was justified by a legitimate and objectively reasonable concern for the safety of a third person and the officers. The court also held that, once officers were inside the apartment, exigent circumstances justified asking defendant to stand and turn around and seizing the gun.
Court Description: Benton, Author, with Loken and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The government appeals a suppression order. Held: the officers' warrantless entry to defendant's apartment was justified by a legitimate and objectively reasonable concern for the safety of the officers and a third person present in the apartment; once inside the apartment, the exigencies of the situation justified the officers' action in ordering defendant to stand and turn around; when they saw a gun on his hip, the officers acted reasonably in seizing it; if officers have an objectively reasonable basis that some immediate action is required to preserve the safety of others or themselves, they do not also need probably cause; the district court's suppression is reversed.
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