Cops busting down doors

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sauvin
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by sauvin » Tue May 29, 2012 8:03 am

SFTifoso wrote: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.
I am no lawyer, and have never even played one on TV.

As I understand it, yes, police are specifically prohibited from entering a private residence without a warrant, court order or some other supervisory instrument under ordinary circumstances.

As I understand it also, however, police are allowed to break down a door and enter without a warrant or similar incident in the presence of "probable cause", meaning that there is clear reason to believe that a crime is being commited, or that a crime is imminent, or (and this may vary by jurisdiction) that evidence of a crime is or is about to be destroyed. My description is casual and probably unwittingly excerpted from some stupid cop show on TV. Examples of "probable cause" would be fire, shots fired, people being thrown out windows without the windows being first opened to accommodate them, that general sort of thing. You are warned not to be guided by this description, either, it's apt to be very far from exhaustive.

The short story is that police can legally respond in an appropriate manner to an emergency.
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Jameron
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by Jameron » Tue May 29, 2012 1:11 pm

sauvin wrote:The short story is that police can legally respond in an appropriate manner to an emergency.
Yes they can, but none of that applies in Let Me In.

When would a creaking floorboard constitute a valid reason to break down a door? Remember that he had no other evidence to back up any kind of theory. If he had broken the door down and pointed his gun at an old woman in a zimmer frame (a walking frame) crawling along at full speed to get to the door ... he could well have been suspended. And if the woman had had a medical emergency because of him then he could have been sacked for gross misconduct. The careful, polite, professional cop at the beginning of the film would know all this and act accordingly ie. not breaking down the door based on a confused idea about satanists that no-one else had seen or heard about or could corroborate.

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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by Son of Gray » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:23 pm

Im gonna try to stick up for the cop abit. Since LMI was my first venture iinto the story we all love so much, i have a certain affinity for the movie. I watched LMI thinking there was NO WAY the original could be better. (I know, silly.) They are 2 different movies and when compared one does pale, but alone they are great stories.

We've established the detective is a noble man. " Innocent "? Probably not, but willing to do what it takes to insure the safety of those in need of assistance. We can assume he entered on the pretense that someone (Abbey) is in trouble and needs to be saved. Though she evidently (he may not be exact on his assessment) may be captive AND attempted to visit her captor, she may still be in danger. (stockholm syndrom?) He has come to the conclusion ther is someone in trouble and needs help. But as we all know, that was not the case.

I LIKE TO BELIEVE. . . He knew. He has come to the conclusion, however unlikely and undeniably unprobable that this " Abbey " (he somewhat knows) is a vampire. Givin the info, tiny teeth marks on the victims, a body being found A DAY BEFORE this attack on Ginia, people seeing a grown man and child who've moved into the very apt hese things are happining at. I know theres more but i kinda dont wanna sit down and break down the detectives role just now, maybe tomorrow or Sunday but, you all get my drift im sure.

I also believe he's using the term "cult" because he doesny have anoher word for whats accuring. He could say, " I hink heres a vampire about eating people" but i dontthink thatd help his cause much. You could even say upon entering the apt 304, he was in conflict with hisown thouhts. BOOM! he breaks down the door, " i hope shes here". He sees the note to Owen, " Abbey . . . shes here. (?) And running the gammit of emotions upon breaking down the door, EVEN if he thought," here lays a vampire", once he saw the girl, it probably all flew out the window. And after Owen made his presence know, one could say he was ready to put away his gun. 2 children in an empty apartment, whats the harm?

idk. thats my bit. im sure i missed somepointsi wanted to make but im sure a reply will jar those thouhts loose.

-gray
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by gkmoberg1 » Sat Nov 03, 2012 1:53 am

We need to get a hold of the detective's diary. Hopefully he kept one. Then we could know whether the thought of vampire ever entered his mind, or was ever entertained seriously, or was considered and rejected, or was considered but hold off -given the skeptical review he would be given at the station.

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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by Son of Gray » Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:03 am

Or his notepad at the least. Im sure theres all kinds of scribbles and crossed out theories. Again, its all conjecture, my little viewpoint on his story.

I try to think of it from his point of view. Older guy, been out doing detective things for a while i guess seeing as he's alone trying to solve this case. The bite marks though. And the only thing linking all the murders was that the bodies were drained of blood, i think. Thomas' body aswell.

But still. As it is, we can only safely assume, from what we can conclude of the detectives actions givin us; there was a girl in trouble and needed help.

I wonder what he was thinking and feeling after he read the note and went down the hall to the bathroom? And when he lifted the blanket and saw a little girl? Even after hearing talk of a young girl moving in and reading a note signed by an 'Abby'. Maybe the same Abby from the unnamed mans last written words? Why was he sorry?

I dont know. I think, really what it may be for me partly is i like Elias Koteas alot as an actor and i dont want to think his character was in vain. :(
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by BurgerPrince » Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:39 pm

- But who's to say that he had no warrant in his pocket to search the apartment and arrest Abby?
- As already given in the scene where of interrogation, the Police would have been able to find out who Thomas was, as well as anyone who was working with him (Abby).
- As for finding out where they lived, it really wasn't a hard thing to do, all it took was questioning the residents and the landlord.
- Funny thing, if you watch the Swedish movie, you don't actually know how Lacke got in. (They do say in the book, he just opened the door as Eli forgot to lock it after fighting zombie-Håkan.)
- Maybe he didn't want to alert Abby into leaving, so he brought no backup? But yeah, I can see that as a flaw.
- What really bugged me in that scene was when he didn't clear the room where Owen was hiding. I'm no policeman, but I'd say any policeman would instinctively know to do that. (And also, why wouldn't more policemen make an effort to look for him after he died? Wouldn't it occur to them to check out the last place he said he was gonna go to after he never returned? But then again, that might not really be necessary to show in the film as it wouldn't really do much for the plot.)
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by RapeSoul » Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:48 pm

Is everyone gonna overlook the fact that when Lacke went into Eli's apartment, he went toward the bathroom and picked it before he checked to see if it was locked? LTROI made a lot of little errors like this.
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by intrige » Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:09 pm

No he didn\t .. he went into the apartment, found a random door that he tried to open, which was locked, then went into the kitchen and foun a knife he could use to pick the lock. I remember that because Oskar has to hold his breath twise while hiding under the table. And he let it go when Ladke went off to feel the door, and then Oskar helt is breath again when Lacke came back to find the knife.
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by metoo » Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:49 pm

RapeSoul wrote:Is everyone gonna overlook the fact that when Lacke went into Eli's apartment, he went toward the bathroom and picked it before he checked to see if it was locked? LTROI made a lot of little errors like this.
I just watched that episode. You are mistaken, RapeSoul, there is no error.

In the very first scene inside the apartment we see Lacke standing in the hallway, looking around. One thing he notices is that the bathroom door is locked. He knows it's a bathroom door and that it's locked by the red signal visible near the door handle Swedish bathroom doors usually have.

Here's a modern variant, in this case the door is unlocked.
Image

Then Lacke makes a brief tour around the apartment, finding nothing else of interest. Since the bathroom door is locked, Lacke likely already has concluded that someone has to be inside, someone he has unfinished business with. Thus he walks to the kitchen, a likely place to find a tool with which he can open the door, and then he returns to the bathroom.
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Re: Cops busting down doors

Post by PeteMork » Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:01 pm

metoo wrote:
RapeSoul wrote:Is everyone gonna overlook the fact that when Lacke went into Eli's apartment, he went toward the bathroom and picked it before he checked to see if it was locked? LTROI made a lot of little errors like this.
I just watched that episode. You are mistaken, RapeSoul, there is no error.

In the very first scene inside the apartment we see Lacke standing in the hallway, looking around. One thing he notices is that the bathroom door is locked. He knows it's a bathroom door and that it's locked by the red signal visible near the door handle Swedish bathroom doors usually have.

Here's a modern variant, in this case the door is unlocked.
Image

Then Lacke makes a brief tour around the apartment, finding nothing else of interest. Since the bathroom door is locked, Lacke likely already has concluded that someone has to be inside, someone he has unfinished business with. Thus he walks to the kitchen, a likely place to find a tool with which he can open the door, and then he returns to the bathroom.
We can also hear him jiggle the door handle just before he comes back into the kitchen for the knife.
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