Media reports breathlessly announced a standoff at the home of singer and actor Chris Brown on August 30th. However, what members of the media were calling a “standoff” was not that at all. Brown was simply exercising his Fourth Amendment rights. Los Angeles police arrived at his home early that day to investigate claims by a woman that Brown had threatened her with a gun. However, Brown would not allow the officers into his house because they did not have a search warrant. He had every right to keep them out until they obtained said warrant. He did not threaten the police or physically resist them in any way. He even remained in his house while they went to a judge and got the warrant.
If I had been in his shoes, I would have left the house and locked it behind me while they were away. When the police returned with the warrant, they searched Brown’s home and subsequently arrested him on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. They have yet to say whether or not they found any gun. Brown is now out on bail and vows to fight the charges when he gets his day in court. He claims his accuser set him up. We’ll see. But one thing we do know that our sensationalist and alarmist media deceived us when they trumpeted the headline that there was a police standoff at Chris Brown’s house. Shame on them!
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