Professor: Police could enter home

A couple’s COLUMBUS — voices could be heard arguing, and there was loud banging.

“It was terrifying,” a woman living in an upstairs apartment told a 911 dispatcher early Saturday morning. Before the woman could leave her apartment to investigate what she believed to be a domestic violence assault, three gunshots were fired.

When Columbus police officers arrived on the shotsfired call just after 2:30 a.m., they didn’t force their way into the Taylor House apartment in the 5000 block of Olentangy River Road on the Northwest Side.

A day later nearly to the minute, two bodies were found inside the apartment early Sunday morning by a female friend who merely opened the unlocked door and went inside.

Investigators determined 22-year-old Heather Campbell, a former Navy officer who was studying psychology at Ohio State University, was shot and killed by her boyfriend, 25-year-old Kyle Lafferty.

Lafferty then turned the gun on himself.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Michigan v. Fisher, allows police officers to enter a residence without a warrant in exigent circumstances, said Ric Simmons, a professor at Ohio State University’s Mortiz College of Law.

Those circumstances could include an emergency situation requiring swift action to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect, or destruction of evidence.

“Gunshots and screaming — there could be someone in need of medical attention or someone who is an ongoing threat inside the home,” he said.

“That could be the reason they could go inside the home.”

Officers essentially are left to their discretion to determine whether there’s a credible threat.

“At the time of the call, responding officers did not have sufficient probable cause to force entry into that location,” said Denise Alex-Bouzounis, a spokeswoman for the Columbus Division of Police.

However, there are more than two options when it comes to entering or not entering, Simmons said.

“They could do further investigation. They could try and get a warrant and learn more about what’s going on,” he said.

“It’s not just a question of go in right away or do nothing.”

The Dispatch spoke with some officers who cited the Supreme Court case and said they would enter if there was a witness who was willing to identify themselves and meet with officers at the scene.

“That door would have been hanging off the hinges,” said one officer, who is not authorized to publicly speak. “Well, maybe. It’s tough to say these days. The last five years have beat the aggression and assertiveness out of cops. That’s dangerous for taxpayers.”

It’s unclear why the responding officers in the 17th precinct chose not to enter on Saturday.

The woman who called 911 met with them. On the call with police dispatchers, she is adamant with her boyfriend in the background that there were gunshots.

“The officers would have to evaluate the totality of calls ... Look at the entire picture. It’s a tough judgment call the officers make,” Alex-Bouzounis said in a follow-up statement.

She also said there have been cases where officers are given bad information about a situation inside a residence. In this case, there was only one call to dispatchers about the noises from the apartment.