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Comment by llimllib | Hacker News Reader

The only thing that bothers me is the method of executing the search on Mr. Chen. In this case, it's not like he has ever been hiding anything, so did they need to bust in his door, execute a search warrant, and seize his computers?

It seems to me that the facts of this case are all public, and if they want to prosecute him, they could have done so without resorting to thuggish tactics.

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They broke in his door because no one was home, and they'll pay for the damage. That's pretty much SOP when executing a warrant.

I believe that the contention of the police is that perhaps the facts aren't all public. They want to know exactly what exchanges too place between Gizmodo and Hogan (or whoever Hogan's go-between was), and I think that's reasonable. Did they ask where the phone came from? Did they ask if attempts had been made to return it? Do the dates of those correspondences match up with the stories both sides are telling? Etc.

In general, I disapprove of the increasing militarization of police tactics. Far too many search warrants are executed by SWAT teams wielding tasers and guns, and result in the deaths of innocent people.

However. Think about it for a minute. Just how should the police generally execute a search warrant? If the suspect doesn't answer the door, should they leave a polite note and come back several hours later once the suspect has had a chance to smash the computers with a hammer, set fire to the paper evidence, and flee to Barbados?

Shouldn't it depend on the crime and the alleged criminal. Chen had already returned the property to Apple so should have been given some credit for that gesture during the search. Also, the crime was for buying stolen property at worst, I don't think that should have involved knocking down doors

At worst, the crime is economic espionage (more likely by Chen's employers rather than him as an individual). This carries a sentence of up to a decade a fine of up to $5m (although if this were the case here, the actual penalty might only be a tenth of that).

> Just how should the police generally execute a search > warrant? If the suspect doesn't answer the door, should > they leave a polite note and come back several hours > later once the suspect has had a chance to smash the > computers with a hammer, set fire to the paper evidence, > and flee to Barbados?

Yes, actually.

The identity of the person who sold them the phone was not public.

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