When Police Come with a Warrant

An officer executing a search warrant may enter after giving notice of the officer's authority and purpose when there is no response or no admission with reasonable promptness, or without notice only in the cases the section allows.

• Entry without notice takes reasonable suspicion that notice would endanger someone, probable cause that evidence may be quickly destroyed, a magistrate's direction, or something the officer sees and documents at the scene.
• An officer who enters without notice identifies himself or herself and states the purpose as soon as practicable after entering.
• Only reasonable and necessary force may be used, and the officer wears readily identifiable markings, including a badge and a vest or labeled clothing.
• An officer equipped with a body camera follows the agency's policy, which requires one to be worn when available.

• §Utah Code 77-23-210StatuteForce used in executing a search warrant -- When notice of authority is required as a prerequisiteOpens le.utah.gov ↗

How a warrant is served is also measured by the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that whether officers knocked and announced their presence before entering is part of whether the entry was reasonable, and that the knock and announce principle forms part of that analysis rather than being a rigid rule without exceptions. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.

• Wilson v. ArkansasCourt decisionKnocking and announcing is part of whether an entry is reasonable514 U.S. 927 (1995)Opens supreme.justia.com ↗