Opinion ID: 2377737
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Opening Closed Containers

Text: The next issue is whether Officer Walter exceeded the bounds of a permissible inventory search when he opened Thompson's eyeglass case. In Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1, 110 S.Ct. 1632, 109 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990), the United States Supreme Court held that the police may open containers during an inventory search if the department has a standard procedure allowing such conduct. In accordance with Florida v. Wells, supra , the Arkansas courts have consistently held that an officer may open a closed container during an inventory search when there is some evidence that the officer did so pursuant to a standard policy. Welch v. State, 330 Ark. 158, 955 S.W.2d 181 (1997); Snell v. State, 290 Ark. 503, 721 S.W.2d 628 (1986); Kirk v. State, 38 Ark.App. 159, 832 S.W.2d 271 (1992); Folly v. State, 28 Ark.App. 98, 771 S.W.2d 306 (1989). As previously mentioned, Policy 504 declares that: You will inventory all items in the vehicle, including locked or unlocked containers. By referring to locked and unlocked containers, it is clear that this standard policy requires officers to open the containers instead of recording the unopened containers as a unit. Because Officer Walter was acting in accordance with a standard police procedure when he opened the eyeglass case, and there was no evidence of bad faith, we hold that he did not exceed the permissible bounds of an inventory search when he opened the closed container.