Police Use Questionable Procedures in Arrest of Gajcak Teen

Having reviewed the police report of the Shorewood officer's arrest of the teenager in Shorewood named Gajcak, it appears to me that questionable procedures were used.

It appears  that the police had a search warrant for DNA testing of the teenager. The officer then proceeded to the Gajcak residence where he observed the teenager outside the house. When the officer approached, the teenager retreated into his residence. The police officer, in a questionable procedure, went into the house after the teenager. When the officer went into the Gajcak residence the situation spiraled out of control, the teenager was Tasered. A violent ending to the situation was narrowly averted.

My initial reaction to the police report is to question why the officer went to the Gajcak residence alone. An expert witness I hired in a similar situation felt that officers should never enter a house, particularly where they did not know who or what would be inside, alone. A partner is a voice of reason when situations escalate. It is just a good police practice to require two officers to be present.

It also occurred to me that the entire situation could have been avoided by a phone call advising the Gajcaks that there was a DNA search warrant and the teenager would have to come in for the test. There are several different ways that the DNA test could have been obtained without the result that occurred here.

It is black letter that the police cannot enter the Gajcak residence without a search warrant for a search of the house. As related by the police report, it was a search warrant for DNA testing. A DNA search warrant does not equal a search warrant for a search of the residence. The entry into the house makes the arrest arguably an illegal arrest. The police officer will argue that he was in "hot pursuit" when the teenager retreated into the house. This is a factual issue which might have to be determined in court.

From the outside looking in, it appears that questionable procedures were used which might not only hinder the prosecution of Gajcak, it might subject the officer and Shorewood to liability.