Is it legal for a cop to come into my room if my landlord reported us for minor consumption?

Question

Okay I understand that drinking under the age of 21 in the state of MN is illegal... but I was in my apartment which is in my name and the cop came into my room without my permission.

My manager spoke with me earlier in the night and told me to keep it down because it was loud and while i was talking to her I had a beer in my hand. Since it was so loud and we were drinking i told them all to leave except my brother, room mate and best friend and we were just watching TV at an acceptable volume level.

I was very intoxicated, and about 30 minutes later I got a knock on my door. I got up and opened the door without thinking, there is a cop. He asked me if he could have a few words and I said that was fine, but as I am stepping out the door he walks inside, looks at the alcohol and gives me and my 3 friends minors. I asked him repeatedly if he had a warrant, he wouldn't answer me. I asked him if it was legal for him to come in without my permission, and he told me that by me saying yes we can have a few words it was granting him permission to come into my residence.

He told us he was a new cop, told my brother that he had to go to court because it was his second minor which we found was false, it's actually 3 minors. He wouldn't answer my questions so I asked if he could call his sheriff up so I could ask him some questions since he refused to answer any. At that point he threatened to bring me to jail, simply for asking him if it was legal and to speak with a higher officer. He told me if I had any questions I would need to call the number on the back of the citation, but I didn't think that was acceptable considering he was trespassing and we shouldn't have the citations at all. He told me there was a sheriff at the police department, so i asked if he could give me a ride over there to ask questions to him and he refused. I think he was refusing because he was a new cop and came into my house without my permission and realized his mistake and tried to scare me out of asking questions. At that point I asked him if I could ride my bike to the police station and ask the sherriff questions myself. He said that was fine. So I biked the 2 miles to the sheriff department to ask my questions. Upon arriving there I saw 3 cops standing outside smoking cigarettes, I biked up to them and asked if they could answer any of my questions. They refused as well. At that time I asked to speak with the sheriff. Just then the sheriff came out of the building. (by the way I live in a very small town and I was being very cooperative with the cop, he even thanked me for not getting too upset with him) The sheriff immediately told me to get where I was going or I was going to sleep it off in jail. I told him I only had a few questions about the legality of the cop which I thought was named Dept. Haust, when I mentioned dept. Haust he got very upset and corrected me, it was dept. Kaust and repeated to get where I was going I was going to jail.

Given all of this information, do you think it would hold up in court if I wanted to challenge it? I don't think the cop had any idea what he was doing, told me he was a new cop, refused to answer any of my questions, told me to do something that I'm pretty sure was illegal, and I'm pretty sure me attempting to ask the sheriff some questions isn't grounds for me going to jail...

Answer 1

Be glad he did not put you in the drunk tank overnight. Biking while intoxicated is also illegal as is public intoxication and being intoxicated while being a minor.

You could also have been hit with contributing to the dlinquincies of minors.

Your landlord owns the building you occupy and can allow the cop access without your permission when it comes to the protection of his property and his other tenants.

GROW UP.

Answer 2

Lesson # 1 :  Cops can do what ever they want.

I garentee you that in the police report it will say you gave the officer permission to enter.  I can say this because I know police officers are trained to write their reports in a manner that maximizes the usefulness of the report in court.

  Since you have ( or will ) admitt to being intoxicated, your word will not hold up in court.

Your best bet is to hold out for a trial and hope the officer will tell the truth. But by the sound of it, it does not look good.

After all, you were drinking under age.  And some judges will look at the police officers action as justifyed, because he was right.  It's called "good faith"

Answer 3

     If it was your home, you might have an argument, however, it's not. Your landlord reported a crime ( minor possession, minor consumption ) taking place on his property and asked the police to investigate. This means that 1) The property owner had already given consent to enter the apartment, and 2) The officer had reasonable cause to believe that a crime was in commission. Either of these things gives the officer the right to enter without your consent. Sorry...

Answer 4

Your landlord reported a disturbance.  When you calm down, maybe you might google the phrase "probable cause".  And.. despite that.. you were uncooperative.

What he did was totally legal.  

Answer 5

The initial complaint from the landlord established a reason for further investigation.  Your response as "Yes" granted him permission to enter  and having the alcohol in plain sight was all he needed.  You're dead in the water on this one.