Cops busting down doors

For discussion of Matt Reeve's Film Let Me In

Moderator: LMI Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
sauvin
Moderator
Posts: 3410
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:52 am
Location: A cornfield in heartland USA

Cops busting down doors

Post by sauvin » Sun May 20, 2012 9:52 pm

I've been scanning through the DVD looking for something else and happened to run across the scene where the cop is asking Virginia's boyfriend or husband out in the hospital hallway about the attack on Virginia and about a man and a child possibly living in their apartment complex who may be involved with some kind of satanist group.

As I hastily reconstruct the sequence of events from the cop's POV, there'd been a couple of rather gruesome murders that seemed to conform to a particular pattern that suggested some kind of ritual. Then, there was a man in his fifties who'd effaced himself with acid, refuses (or is unable) to speak and is apparently murdered and thrown out his tenth story hospital window, leaving a note for "Abby" - these "facts" won't be immediately apparent as he views the splat that used to be Thomas, but the forensic examination that's sure to follow posthaste will have doubtlessly remarked on the "two small puntures, just like the child's" on his throat and a marked degree of exsanguination. Couple this with the fact that he'd been called away during an interrogation session only for a few moments to receive a report about a child on the ground floor, it must have seemed impossible for a perpetrator to get into the room, do the deed and make good his escape undetected. The cop was at the window looking out less than thirty seconds later and saw no evidence of ladders, ropes or other contrivances to enable a rapid getaway.

I don't think I'd have known what to make of all this, if I'd been the cop.

The girl is somehow linked to the murders, and the cop knows where she lives. What, precisely, might have been on his mind is beyond me, but the only real flaw I can see with how the door-bashing went down is that the cop didn't have backup. The floor creaked in the apartment where the girl linked with a series of gruesome murders lives and he really needs to get in there to see what's up? No problem - just no problem at all - but he either felt he had grounds enough to call for backup before making his forcible entry, or he didn't and therefore should have just moved on. After all, he's chasing what he still seems to believe is a murderous cult - and he's going to trust his little sidearm to overpower potentially a whole coven?

That whole scene makes much better sense to me, now. This poor schmuck had no possibility of having the slighest clue what he was walking into as he waved his gun around in the air, finding things like collections of driver's licenses and lights that don't work, eventually winding up really only finding one defenceless little girl sleeping in a bathtub.

What I'm wondering now is this: the timing is incredible. Little girl walks into the hospitable lobby, asks about the man the police brought in, she scales the hospital walls to find Thomas, share a tender moment and drain him in the few moments the cop happens to be conveniently away. Coincidence?

Addendum: in addition to the confusion already going on while the cop talks to Virginia's man, she is incinerated, along with the nurse tending her. Yet another scenario where a perp had to have gotten in, done the deed and disappeared into thin air and in no time flat, because this time, Virginia's hospital door was almost literally right under his nose.
Fais tomber les barrières entre nous qui sommes tous des frères

User avatar
gkmoberg1
Moderator
Posts: 4245
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 4:46 am
Contact:

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by gkmoberg1 » Tue May 22, 2012 1:47 am

Yes... amazing timing and luck on Abby's part. She arrives at the hospital lobby, finds where (approx) Thomas is being held, scales the hospital exterior to that floor, finds him and then is able to - this is the amazing part - get that brief minute with him while the detective is preoccupied by the phone call coming up from the lobby. Amazing, Yes! But his is the very stuff that makes for a great story. Life in a story is, well, a bit much like life but also a bit of "life" taken at a level of suspended belief. How else is it possible that, say, Harry Potter survives all those final confrontations, or that Luke is able to find and score a direct hit on the Death Star's single weak point - stunning good luck. If only we were so lucky! But that is the reason why we read and watch, enjoying it all and going back for more.

As to why the detective busted down the door on his own... Sure he should have called for backup. But wasn't expecting to find anything but a lone girl. Yes, there was the possibility of a 'coven' or a 'cult' but there was nothing at the apartment to back that up. There was no party going on, no excess of cars in the parking lot. Even after gaining entrance, the place seemed deserted. Suspicions of meeting his demise by finding single girl sleeping the bathtub - probably not the first thing on his mind.

User avatar
sauvin
Moderator
Posts: 3410
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:52 am
Location: A cornfield in heartland USA

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by sauvin » Tue May 22, 2012 2:43 am

gkmoberg1 wrote:As to why the detective busted down the door on his own... Sure he should have called for backup. But wasn't expecting to find anything but a lone girl. Yes, there was the possibility of a 'coven' or a 'cult' but there was nothing at the apartment to back that up. There was no party going on, no excess of cars in the parking lot. Even after gaining entrance, the place seemed deserted. Suspicions of meeting his demise by finding single girl sleeping the bathtub - probably not the first thing on his mind.
The last thing on his mind, i should think. What I was trying to drive at with respect to the cop's frame of mind is not what he might have thought or felt after having broken down the door, but in the moment or two before. Once having broken in, seen that there was no neither light nor sign of immediate occupancy, I'd suggest that waving his gun around was just routine precaution. The man struck me as being the "cross your T's and dot your I's" kind of guy, very methodical and linear in how he approaches things.

But my question is this: what, really, do you suppose he would have been expecting in the moment before he broke down the door?
Fais tomber les barrières entre nous qui sommes tous des frères

User avatar
metoo
Posts: 3677
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:36 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by metoo » Tue May 22, 2012 4:02 am

Cops visiting a suspected criminal's hideout without backup, and without the knowledge of their superiors, and waving a gun, is a film cliché. This never happens in reality, I would think.
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

User avatar
cmfireflies
Posts: 1152
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:39 pm

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by cmfireflies » Tue May 22, 2012 4:09 am

sauvin wrote:
The last thing on his mind, i should think. What I was trying to drive at with respect to the cop's frame of mind is not what he might have thought or felt after having broken down the door, but in the moment or two before. Once having broken in, seen that there was no neither light nor sign of immediate occupancy, I'd suggest that waving his gun around was just routine precaution. The man struck me as being the "cross your T's and dot your I's" kind of guy, very methodical and linear in how he approaches things.

But my question is this: what, really, do you suppose he would have been expecting in the moment before he broke down the door?
The most charitable explanation is that he was really expecting to rescue a 12 year old who was in immediate danger because of possible additional members of the cult. Cops can bust down doors without warning if they reasonably believe they need to do so to prevent immediate harm to people or the destruction of evidence. He may have thought there were still cult members in the apartment and if he didn't act immediately they would kidnap or kill her.
"When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it."

User avatar
gkmoberg1
Moderator
Posts: 4245
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 4:46 am
Contact:

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by gkmoberg1 » Tue May 22, 2012 3:59 pm

metoo wrote:Cops visiting a suspected criminal's hideout without backup, and without the knowledge of their superiors, and waving a gun, is a film cliché. This never happens in reality, I would think.
Very likely. I have NO idea what police procedures might be now or then. But it does seem that in real life one would set up for backup before venturing into a strange apartment.

Now, had he gotten to Thomas' apartment door and hear there was trouble within, then I could see him acting more swiftly. But... even then I'm sure the produce would be to request backup.
cmfireflies wrote:The most charitable explanation is that he was really expecting to rescue a 12 year old who was in immediate danger because of possible additional members of the cult. Cops can bust down doors without warning if they reasonably believe they need to do so to prevent immediate harm to people or the destruction of evidence. He may have thought there were still cult members in the apartment and if he didn't act immediately they would kidnap or kill her.
Yes, this is what I'm trying to stammer out. :)

User avatar
Jameron
Posts: 2728
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:09 pm
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by Jameron » Thu May 24, 2012 10:12 pm

The cop is the only real problem I have with Let Me In, and for me it really is a problem.

We know that this guy is a 'good cop', as evidenced by his conduct when talking to Thomas, and the courtesy he shows the nurse. This is a 'good cop', he has respect for others, and he is an officer and so isn't stupid (one would hope), he plays by the rules. He gathers evidence and testimonies and uses them to come up with a theory that fits the known facts, even through it's wrong.

So he starts to investigate the possibility of a satanic cult. Now is a good time to mention the usual feature of a 'cult' ... there are always more than two members, even if there are only six, or seven members, they would be too much for 'one' cop to take on single-handedly. But that's okay, this experienced career cop wont take any chances, he'll play it by the numbers.

So anyway, he knocks on a door, following up a hunch about the location of 'the girl'. At this point we don't know whether he sees Abby as a perpetrator or a victim. He hears the floor creak from behind the door and goes for his gun. Now, I'm not a cop, but even I know that a floor doesn't creak like that on its own. So this cop starts to break down the door without even knowing who is in the flat behind it, or even how many are in the flat.

At this point I would like to say that the cop looks to be within his rights to break into the flat. There is a thing called "exigent circumstance" that covers a cop in the pursuance of his duties. He is allowed to break and enter a residence when;
  • He is in 'hot' pursuit, and the pursuant enters a dwelling to evade capture,
    He has reasonable suspicions that a serious crime is being committed at that moment in time,
    A home invasion has been reported, and
    He has strong reasons to believe that evidence is about to be destroyed.
But...
  • Our cop isn't in 'hot' pursuit,
    A creaking floor and no other signs of anything happening in the flat does not shout out that a crime is in progress. (let's not forget that this is a murder investigation, he is not looking for burglars)
    No home invasion has been reported, and
    He has no real idea of what is going on, his investigation is only just starting, he hasn't had people followed, or phones tapped. He has no intel on the perpetrators, he doesn't even know how many people are involved other than a dead guy and a twelve year old girl. So no, he has no 'strong reasons to beleive' that anything at all is about to happen.
So let's just put that "exigent circumstance" thingy to bed. He is acting outside the procedures ... which is strange for a 'good cop', and a 'career cop', don't forget this guy is no Harry Callahan.

Not only is he acting outside the limit of his duties, his actions make no sense. He is following up a hunch, a possible line of enquiry. He has been told that 'a' girl has moved into the complex, not 'the' girl, just 'a' girl. Now, remember when he went door to door the first time and Abby didn't answer the door? We are left to assume that he thinks that the flat where he earlier got no answer, could well be where 'a' girl lives. It's a fair assumption, and so like a dutiful 'good cop' he goes and checks it out. He doesn't know who lives there, he doesn't know if it is a satanist cult, a bed ridden cripple, a home-alone boy, or a great dane. HE DOESN'T KNOW, but apparently this 'good cop' thinks its okay to break a door down ... just in case.

He didn't even call for back-up *sigh*

The cops actions. make. no. sense. So ultimately no <beep> was given when he eventually got nommed.

.
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli’s eyes. And what he saw was … himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."

User avatar
Makalli
Posts: 314
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:05 pm
Location: England

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by Makalli » Thu May 24, 2012 11:45 pm

Jameron wrote:He didn't even call for back-up *sigh*

The cops actions. make. no. sense. So ultimately no <beep> was given when he eventually got nommed.
I've cut down the quote, it was a long one, but I agree with everything, that's a big problem for me too.

Why on earth would he break in?
Imagine the film ends just before he enters the bathroom. You wouldn't have a clue why he broke in, it just wouldn't make sense. It goes against everything you've seen.
So how can it make sense just because he does find Abby and then he dies? Answer:It doesn't make sense.
Döden besökte mig i morse. Vi spelar schack tillsammans.

User avatar
drakkar
Posts: 3833
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:26 am
Location: Trondheim, Norway

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by drakkar » Fri May 25, 2012 5:31 am

I got it the cop just had to get into that apartment the way he did because he replaced Lacke, and they didn't change the plot enough to change the way he entered it. And I agree it didn't make much sense.
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

User avatar
SFTifoso
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:47 pm

Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by SFTifoso » Tue May 29, 2012 6:26 am

Well, isn't what he did technically unconstitutional? Didn't he need a warrant to enter Abby's apartment? Seems to me like he was acting on his own, in order to get this "satanist" cult. Or it could be a small town thing, where cops don't usually call for backup.
"It doesn't get easier, you just go faster" - Greg Lemond (cycling legend)

Post Reply

Return to “Let Me In”