SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (WRGB) — Video showing a Schenectady police officer opening a resident’s mailbox, removing mail and looking through it is raising questions about when police can legally search someone’s mailbox without a warrant.
The Schenectady Police Department said the officer was conducting a criminal investigation at the time but has not disclosed what crime was being investigated or what led the officer to the home.
The video shows the officer walking up to the residence, opening the mailbox and removing several pieces of mail before appearing to look through them.
The resident, who provided the video to CBS6, said the encounter left him outraged and questioning whether the officer had the legal authority to search his mailbox.
CBS6 showed the video to attorney Greg Rinckey for his legal assessment.
“If the mailbox is open and you look in the mailbox and you can see it from the sidewalk or everything, that’s fair game,” Rinckey said. “But in this instance, I think that they would have needed a warrant to go through the mailbox.”
Rinckey said there are circumstances in which police could potentially search a mailbox without first obtaining a warrant, including certain emergency situations or depending on whether the mailbox serves a shared residence.
But absent a warrant or an applicable exception, Rinckey said the officer’s actions could raise constitutional concerns.
“In a criminal investigation, short of having a warrant, I think it’s a violation of their privacy rights and their constitutional Fourth Amendment rights,” Rinckey said.
The Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable government searches and seizures and generally requires warrants to be supported by probable cause.
Whether a warrantless search is constitutional depends on the circumstances, and courts recognize exceptions to the warrant requirement in certain situations.
Rinckey said the legal implications could extend beyond the officer’s conduct if evidence was obtained from the mailbox.
“If the police officer got evidence of a crime or something in the mailbox and violated a constitutional right, you can suppress that evidence,” Rinckey said.
The Schenectady Police Department has not said whether the officer had a search warrant, consent or another legal justification for examining the mail.
“No mail was opened or removed, and no information observed on the mail was ultimately used to identify or name a suspect, establish probable cause, or support an arrest,” the department said Monday in a statement.
The department added that it “believes it is important to evaluate the officer’s actions within the full context of the investigation and based on all available facts, rather than solely on a brief video.”
The department said the incident is being reviewed by its Professional Standards Bureau and will ultimately go before the city’s Civilian Police Review Board.
The Professional Standards unit handles internal investigations involving allegations of officer misconduct and policy violations. Completed civilian complaint investigations are reviewed by the police chief before being forwarded to the Civilian Police Review Board for review and feedback, according to the department.
“Regardless of the ultimate findings, incidents such as this provide an opportunity to review departmental practices and ensure our officers have clear, consistent guidance. The Department will use this incident as an opportunity to provide additional training for our members regarding investigative practices involving mail and residential mailboxes,” said the statement.
