Police Properly Searched Bathroom for Guns After Tenant Asked for Help

Tenant sought assistance from two police officers outside her building, stating that her boyfriend was in her apartment bathroom with a gun. The police entered the apartment with tenant's permission, knocked on the bathroom door, and asked the man to open the door. The man said no, because "you're going to kill me." The police went into the bathroom, and arrested the man without further confrontation. They then searched the bathroom and found three guns. While the man admitted that the police entry into the bathroom was lawful, he claimed that they didn't have a right to search the bathroom for the weapons found because he didn't consent to a search. But a person's refusal to comply with a police request is not the same as a refusal to consent to a search and once legally inside the bathroom, the police could seize any evidence in plain sight.

People v. Saint-Ilman: 57 Misc.3d 1202(A), 2017 NY Slip Op 51180(U) (Sup. Ct. Richmond Co., 9/5/17, Mattei, J)