Opinion ID: 6983251
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Obtain Warrant

Text: Under the Fourth Amendment, absent exigent circumstances, police officers may not make a warrantless and non-consensual entry into a private dwelling to make a routine felony arrest. See Payton, 445 U.S. at 576, 590, 100 S.Ct. 1371. This Court has traditionally found the presence of “exigent circumstances” excusing the warrant requirement for entry into a home where (1) the officers involved were in hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect; (2) the suspect posed an immediate threat to arresting officers or to the public; and (3) immediate police action was necessary to prevent the destruction of vital evidence or to prevent the escape of a known criminal. See Jones v. Lewis, 874 F.2d 1125, 1130 (6th Cir.1989). We have further observed that “in a civil damage suit, whether exigent circumstances existed to excuse a warrantless arrest is a question for the jury provided that, given the evidence on the matter, there is room for a difference of opinion.” O’Brien v. City of Grand Rapids, 23 F.3d 990, 998 (6th Cir.1994). In the present case, the officers were pursuing a fleeing suspect at the time that they entered 395 Stoddart. Plaintiffs do not dispute this fact. Instead they argue that the “exigent circumstances” inquiry must involve a balancing of interests, and that because Carroll’s offense was minor, the government’s interest in apprehending him was minimal. Indeed, “because the government’s interest is necessarily less compelling in cases involving minor offenses, the gravity of the underlying offense is ‘an important factor to be considered when determining whether any exigency exists.’ ” United States v. Rohrig, 98 F.3d 1506, 1517 (6th Cir.1996) (quoting Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740, 750-53, 104 S.Ct. 2091, 80 L.Ed.2d 732 (1984)). Under Welsh, courts must look to the state’s penalty scheme to determine the seriousness of a state law offense; if the suspect has committed an offense “for which no imprisonment is possible,” the offense is “minor.” See Welsh, 466 U.S. at 754, 104 S.Ct. 2091. Plaintiffs assert that Carroll committed a minor offense in that he did no more than rob a police officer of twenty dollars. Under Ohio law, attempting drug trafficking can constitute a misdemeanor of the first degree. See Ohio Rev.Code Ann. §§ 2923.02, 2925.03 (Banks-Baldwin 1995); State v. Cola, 76 Ohio App.3d 840, 603 N.E.2d 405 (Ohio Ct.App.1992); In re Carver, 91 Ohio Misc.2d 178, 698 N.E.2d 151, 153 (Ohio Ct.Cl.1997). However, under Ohio law, the government may convict one who offers to sell a controlled substance for aggravated drug trafficking, a felony offense which carries a presumption for a term of imprisonment. See Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 2925.03 (Banks-Baldwin 1995). Given the facts of this case, we conclude that when the officers set out to pursue Carroll, they had probable cause to believe that he had offered to sell crack cocaine and had thereby committed a drug offense constituting a felony. Carroll offered to sell crack to Sgt. Dunlap and then disappeared for a while before returning. Moreover, Carroll fled when confronted by Sgt. Dunlap. That a suspect engages in a sequence of events typical of a drug transaction and that he flees after being confronted by police are factors relevant to a “totality of the circumstances” review of whether the police had probable cause to believe a drug trafficking offense has taken place. See United States v. Hughes, 898 F.2d 63, 64 (6th Cir.1990). Because these facts gave rise to probable cause on the part of Defendant officers to believe that Carroll had engaged in a felony warranting imprisonment, their interest in pursuing Carroll was strong. See Welsh, 466 U.S. at 754, 104 S.Ct. 2091. Accordingly, we reject Plaintiffs’ argument that the officers had cause to believe that the offense committed by Carroll was only a “minor” one and conclude that the district court did not err in holding, as a matter of law, that “exigent circumstances” justified the officers’ warrantless entry into Plaintiffs’ home.