NY: Police enter multiple yards without consent or announcing themselves.

But wouldn’t they also have to reasonably believe the person on the property to begin with?

For example I watched one of the cops fight to open a gate that was frozen shut. An elderly man obviously hadn’t opened that gate recently. That also made me think: In a blanket search like that, if a gate is locked but they can climb over it can they legally do so?

I’m curious how you would handle something like the Atatiana Jefferson case in Texas then. The officer entered the property without announcing or identifying themselves based on a phone call from a neighbor about a door being left ajar. The resident saw somebody creeping around their backyard with a flashlight and went armed to the window to investigate. The cop feared for his life and shot through the window killing her.

/r/legaladvice Thread Parent