In a case recently decided by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, a complaint against a municipality and various police officers alleged that they had violated the Constitutional rights of the case’s plaintiff, including “his First Amendment right of privacy and his Fourth Amendment right not to have his residence invaded and searched by the government.”
The plaintiff alleged that after several burglaries that were reported to the police, he provided police with a key for his residence for the sole purpose of installing a burglar alarm, because he was scheduled to be away from home on the date planned for installation. The alarm was installed and the plaintiff alleged that on the following day the police officers improperly and without lawful reason entered the plaintiff’s residence along with a representative of the city’s housing department. The complaint further alleged that the defendants illegally entered the residence without permission to photograph the house, provided photographs to news media and claimed to file complaints for violations, all for the purpose of embarrassing the plaintiff.