Los Angeles County v. Rettele

The Court found the search reasonable because the officers had knowledge that one of the suspects was armed. Also, the officers had no way of knowing that, despite the fact that they discovered three persons not suspected of any crime, that dangerous persons were not within the premises as well. The Court has long held that “in executing a search warrant officers may take reasonable action to secure the premises and to ensure their own safety and the efficacy of the search.” The fact that the officers were in error in conducting the search did not make that search unreasonable. The Court noted “valid warrants will issue to search the innocent, and people like Rettele and Sadler unfortunately bear the cost. Officers executing search warrants on occasion enter a house when residents are engaged in private activity; and the resulting frustration, embarrassment, and humiliation may be real, as was true here. When officers execute a valid warrant and act in a reasonable manner to protect themselves from harm, however, the Fourth Amendment is not violated.”