Lakeville police surprise sleeping man with 3 a.m. reminder to ...

Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up.

[Unconstitutional]

I am a woman who sleeps in the buff. I do not want to be awakened by two cops in my bedroom. My husband and I have weapons in our home, as well as a watchdog, to protect ourselves from intruders. I would hate to hear an intruder, grab a firearm, and point it at a police officer. The consequences would not be good for either one of us. The cops stepped over the line and their decision to enter a private home without a search warrant or probable cause was intrusive and dangerous. Someone could have been badly hurt because of their poor judgment.

[Wow]

Unreal.... Imagine if the homeowner thought they were actually intruders and somebody ended up dead... I don't know about this it sounds a little bit over the top to me.

[sheepy]

The door was ajar. They were checking to be sure everything was okay. They were not searching for illegal activity on the part of the homeowner.

My friend had a cat that knocked a phone over and hit the speed dial, dialing 911. When the police arrived the doors were unlocked. They knocked and there was no answer. They came in and woke my friend. At no point did they search the house for anything illegal my friend might have done, although there were controlled substances in the home in plain view of the police. What the police did do was check the home to be sure there was not a break in.

Unconstitutional, would you fire your weapon without looking to see who it is? If so, I hope your husband never comes home late one night without clearing identifying himself.

[johnny]

cant figure out,,,? just be glad all is ok...

[Mike the Vike]

How about this? Keep any eye on the property for any suspicious behavior. Close the door, leave a note, and if needed... make a visit in the morning?

That actually would be a tough one. Had the police found an intruder, they would have been heros. But it could have been handled differently. Perhaps the police department should have come up with a policy about what to do if they run into that situation.

[Just Sayin]

Those Lakeville cops are lucky they didnt get shot by the homeowner.

[Workaday Oakdale Brother]

I wouldn't mind, if it was two cute, straight, female cops!

[cmmm]

I cannot believe that everyone would free that way even after the police put notices. They were only doing their job. The police would have gotten even more negative review if something would have happened after all the warnings then what. I would have been happy for them to wake me up, because then I would have a) learned a lesson and B) it shows they were doing their job.

[wowser]

I'm afraid the authorities will send this man to a re-education camp. Hard labor and the works.

[Chuck]

The cops do not believe we have any rights anymore. We are becoming just like England, the cops and city can do what they want to us, next they will be reading our mail.

[Mel]

Doing their job? This is ridiculous. From a LE prospective this is not right. I can leave every window, door, light on, etc...This does not give you Probable cause to enter my house. Lakeville PD? Find something else to do.

[abc]

i hope they try that here

[Berthold]

This could have been another case like the Vang Khang raid in minneapolis, MN

[mnpd]

Speaking from a LE background, the officers did not have probable cause or a warrant to enter the house. They can not use "exigent circumstances" (emergeny) to justify why they went into the house. They had no legal right to be there, and they could have gotten hurt or killed by the homeowners. I agree...Lakeville PD, there are bigger fish to fry. Shame on you officers for not using common sense and officer safety. This could have turned out to be a big mess...

[Dan]

mnpd wrote:

Speaking from a LE background, the officers did not have probable cause or a warrant to enter the house. They can not use "exigent circumstances" (emergeny) to justify why they went into the house. They had no legal right to be there, and they could have gotten hurt or killed by the homeowners. I agree...Lakeville PD, there are bigger fish to fry. Shame on you officers for not using common sense and officer safety. This could have turned out to be a big mess...

Betting there will be a huge lawsuit.

[KPB]

Phone call? Have the owner come down and visit with you and ask to see that everything is ok.

Troy - Lock your doors and shut the garage door. You're damn lucky that it was only the police!

[Bah Humbug]

Dan wrote:

<quoted text>
Betting there will be a huge lawsuit.

HUGE lawsuit?

An apology yes, and then get on with life. No harm was done.

Everybody has their hand out looking for a big score against someone else.

Lakeville PD should obviously rethink this whole deal.

Homeowner goes upstairs to sleep and leaves the youngsters alone downstairs with an unlocked door?

He's damn lucky it was the cops that entered and not some street slime. YES, they have street slime in Lakeville.

[Bah Humbug]

quote<I am a woman who sleeps in the buff.>quote

Who cares?

What does that juicy little tidbit have to do with anything? Would you feel less strongly if you were wearing your little flannel jammies with the feet attached?

[Tom]

Much safer for the police to call the home or have the dispatcher call the home.... these guys are lucky they did not get shot by the gun most people have in the home for this very reason...intruders!!! beside now every nut in town knows to go looking for un-locked doors at 3 am. copy cats create crime waves

[DAH]

Very careless on the part of the homeowner in both the human aspect and property part. He should be glad the cops care enough to check. He doesn't know where to go? Grow up, thank the cops for doing their job. You could have missing kids.