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IMPROPER SEARCH WARRANT SUIT DISMISSED BECAUSE OF LACK OF INSURANCE

ROANOKE RAPIDS - A civil suit over an improper search warrant in Northampton County was dismissed because the county did not have insurance to cover the two officers in such a lawsuit, attorney Gilbert Chichester said.

The county claimed sovereign immunity because Northampton does not have insurance to cover officers in a lawsuit of that nature.

The county admitted in a motion to dismiss the case the defendants did not have liability insurance to cover the claims alleged in the December 2000 lawsuit.

"...  There is no genuine issue of material fact and defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law since the doctrine of sovereign immunity bars this action in that defendants have not purchased liability insurance ..." the Nov.  12, 2001, the motion to dismiss said.

"Because of sovereign immunity, it couldn't go forward," said Chichester, a Halifax County attorney representing Sharon R.  Turner of Conway.

Chichester declined to comment on statements made by the two defendants, former Northampton County Sheriff's officers Norman G.  Smith and Michael Boone, that the dismissal of the lawsuit vindicated them.

Judicial District 6B Superior Court Judge Cy A.  Grant Jr.  did not explain why the suit was dismissed when he signed the order.

Chichester said in a recent interview his research into the case found no evidence where officers could use a single search warrant to cover a separate residence not named in the warrant.  "It is ( only ) valid for the place they got it for."

The lawsuit claimed Smith and Boone violated the rights of Turner and her daughters, Stephanie and Samantha, when they "unlawfully and falsely entered into the residence ...  without consent and without a search warrant or valid arrest warrant" on Dec.  24, 1999.

Chichester said had the lawsuit not been dismissed, it could have tested what powers officers have with a search warrant that grants them the right to enter a residence not actually named in the search warrant.

The officers said last month the dismissal of the suit was a victory for them and should help silence their critics.  "We had a lot of critics that were not as familiar with search warrant procedures.  They were giving opinions on something they're not trained very well in," Smith, now a special investigator for a major insurance company, said last month.  "Education and experience can bring you through things like this.  One of my instructors was willing to testify I was doing what I was trained to do."

Boone, now a full-time officer with Garysburg and part-time officer with Gaston, said he was caught in the middle of personal grudges other officers had against Smith.  "I knew we were right all along.  I was surprised to know officers that have been in law enforcement longer than myself had a problem with understanding the search warrant to the point they would encourage the Turners to press criminal and civil charges," he said last month.

The officers entered Turner's residence based on a search warrant that granted them the authority to search Turner's mother's home in Pendleton, or any place where she may have been in proximity to her mother's home.

According to court records the suit claimed Smith and Boone and a third police officer used physical force to gain entry into the residence at 419 Wood Court, Conway, causing Turner's daughters to hide and cower in their bedrooms on the second floor of the apartment.

"You are commanded to search the premises, vehicle, person and other place or item described in the application for the property and person in question," the magistrate who signed the warrant, wrote.

Smith explained in the warrant Turner's brother alleged he had seen a large amount of crack cocaine in his sister's bedroom.  "Also during the last 24 hours, I've had contact with the original confidential informant who provided information that led to Ms.  Turner's first arrest," Smith wrote.  "This individual described Ms.  Turner as being loaded with drugs for the holidays and that she should be in possession of drugs in any location in which she is found."

Because there was the possibility Turner could have drugs on her at any time, Smith requested a search warrant that would allow him to search her "at her mother's home or any other place she is found in close proximity."