Do I have a valid California Civil Code 52.1 // US section 1983 claim against sheriff's deputies?
I walk from my apartment to ralphs, buy yogurt and raspberries.
come back eat a bit, loud knock on door maybe 5-10 minutes later. its rough estimate 8pm
I open door, sheriff at door, asks "are there any children" in the house
i respond "i don't know"
sheriff motions with his hand and says "step outside"
i step outside. the officer asks me another question, I believe the same question again. I say "i decline to" answer. the officer removes my sunglasses (prescription now I have very limited vision) and places them on the doormat which is just inside the apartment. he pats me down and handcuffs me. He takes me downstairs and removes my wallet and cell phone (neigher of which feel like a weapon) from my pocket. The only other item i have on me is earud headphones which he leaves on me. he goes through my wallet, and asks me more questions, each itme I respond the word attorey or lawyer is in the response. After a few questios I repeat my request for an attorney loudly so all officers as well as neighbors can hear that I am asking for an attorney.
The officers do not cease questionining me, and ask me to get up and sit down and walk back and forth, seemingly for no reason. I comply with all movement instructions. They then take me to the back of a cop car.
The cuffs are very tight now. I ask the officer to loosen them. After a few minutes they do.
After a bit, their line of questioning seems to state that the girl was just lost. They suggested that I was her caretaker and that I neglected her. They continued to asks questions, all of which I either was silent or asked for an attorney for what would be the 20th+ time at this point.
A female officer opened the back of the car and said look we're just trying to find the parents, and asks me questions about getting in touch with them or their whereabouts. She said that I misunderstood the situation and I was not under arrest, and that I misunderstood the law. I stated that I was in the back of a police car in handcuffs and the response was that "that's because you didnt cooperate".
About two hours passed, and then opened the door and still in cuffs they led me back to apartent 36 where i was found. they took me inside the entrance room, still cuffed, and in front of my roomate and his girlfriend, asked me if some cash in a backpack was mine. this backpack was originally inside a private room that i was staying in. they had brought it into the living room. I again asserted that I wanted an attorney. The man (my friend also a resident) said that it was his own fault that the kid was left there and the kid was not my responsibility. they told the mother, do you see what kind of person you left your kid with. and they told the man (my friend and the mother's friend), do you see what kind of person you left this kid with. their tones implied that I was a terrible person. They released my handcuffs and motioned me to sit down on a chair.
i do not believe that i committed any act that would even constitute even a civillly unlawful act or tort. at no point did i resist or make any statements (aside from attorney and saying i was in hand cuffs in a police car) beyond the very first one
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After they left I found out that they had (i believe without a warrant), went onto my computer, my suitcase, backpack, roomate's pack, etc. This information came from the girl who had been lost, so it must have occurred after both she and I were safely in custody. I do not see any circumstances indicating that this was an emergency beyond the fact that the girl's parents location were unknown. It was probably allegedly to "look for phone numbers" or such to find the "parents".
I did not consent to any search, and when I asked boht my friends and the child if they had been given any kind of document by the officers they responded no.
Answer
I'm not sure if your roommates agreed to let them go inside the apartment and conduct a search. At a minimum you should file a formal complaint.
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