Police violated Colorado Springs man’s constitutional rights with 24/7 surveillance, court rules

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Springs police officers went too far — infringing on a man’s Fourth Amendment right to privacy — when they installed a camera on a utility pole across the street from his home and recorded footage for three months without obtaining a search warrant, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday. 

Police mounted the camera in June 2015 after receiving a tip that Rafael Phillip Tafoya was involved in drug trafficking, according to the ruling. It wasn’t until after reviewing the footage, which showed Tafoya transporting drugs into his detached garage, that police applied for a warrant to search his home and found large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine.

Tafoya was charged with two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute and two counts of conspiracy and later, found guilty. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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