That's pretty amazing stuff. I've long suspected that cops troll the streets using FLIR cameras and then find some bogus reason to get a warrant. Good to see them get trapped for once.

Flir could have been used, but they probably didn't need it.

More likely... The former cop (now reality tv star) anonymously calls a police tip line with the address of the house, and says he has seen the plants. The real cops go by and see foil on the windows. The neighbors are spoken to, and report suspicious activity of folks who are coming and going. A lawful check of the utility bill shows high use because of the grow lights.

This is probably enough to get a look inside if the warrant is reviewed by a generous judge.

As for the cops saying they smelled the marijuana? I doubt it. Sometimes people want desperately for their senses to back up their beliefs. Other times people embellish to make their case stronger, and that is called a lie. So it will likely be the end of a career or two for the cops who authored the warrant.

Good riddance to those who lie on search warrants, because abuse of that power will only lead to greater restrictions on honest police trying to get the job done. I am however suspect of the source here, and I try to remember that most reality TV is staged for an intended outcome.

I'm not sure what you could see on a utility bill when the grow lights had only been in for 24 hours...

Meanwhile in New York, officers are indicted for alleged sodomy of a suspect with a baton:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/officers-surrender-in-assault-case/?scp=1&sq=police%20officer%20sodomy%20baton&st=cse

What are you people crazy?

When you need a cop in an emergency, I bet you don't discriminate about who shows up.

For example, if you thought you saw a mentally ill guy urinating in the street, you wouldn't care if the cop that shows up is a "thumper" that parks illegally, uses prohibited tactics to spy on people in their homes, lies on his search warrants, sodomizes "suspects" or what have you.

Freaking cry baby liberals.

There's always a person willing to shine those "Jack-Boots".

For example, if you thought you saw a mentally ill guy urinating in the street, you wouldn't care if the cop that shows up is a "thumper" that parks illegally, uses prohibited tactics to spy on people in their homes, lies on his search warrants, sodomizes "suspects" or what have you.

Actually, I would.

But I'm weird like that, expecting the civil servants whose salaries I help pay to have standards and to follow the law.

With all due respect, there is a huge difference between parking illegally, and perjuring yourself on a warrant to invade the privacy of a citizen's home, or using excessive force against transients, the majority of whom probably suffer from some addiction or other mental or emotional malady. And it is true the police routinely use electric consumption spikes as reflected in utility records, to target grow operations. But I agree with the comment above, 24hrs of increased electric use hardly sounds like enough time to support probable cause.

Sarcasm is lost on some people. ;)

Mike; The point is that warrants are not all that difficult to get in the first place. Good cops don't need to lie. That's why any lies in any affidavit are so awful. It only creates case law and requirements that work against the good guys trying hard to do the right thing.

None; Your sarcasm was not lost on all of us. You are exactly right. If one is likely to fudge on the small things, it gets much easier to fudge on the big ticket issues.

none: I guess I missed the tongue in cheek in your post. Jack gets so many rabid righties sometimes it's hard to tell the sarcasm from the hysteria.