@phillipckim.bsky.social
Reposted
So, local cops conducted a warrantless search of Luigi's backpack, realized they screwed up, admitted it on camera, put the backpack in a patrol car NOT sealed in an evidence bag (an 11 minute drive with no bodycam footage available), then searched the backpack again at the station and "found" a gun
![26. The officers continued their warrantless search through Mr. Mangione's backpack
at McDonald's even after he was removed from the restaurant by other officers and driven to the precinct. During this continued search at McDonald's, Patrolwoman Wasser recovered a gun magazine loaded with bullets. Now realizing she had made a potentially devastating mistake by
thoroughly searching the backpack of a murder suspect in a significant New York press case
without a warrant, she suddenly stated that she was searching through the backpack at McDonald's to make sure there "wasn't a bomb or anything in here" before putting the backpack in the car. The
falsity of that comment was made clear seconds later when another officer at McDonald's stated
"Now that we found that [i.e., the loaded magazine], let's just bring it back" to the precinct.
Suddenly not concerned about a "bomb," Patrolwoman Wasser placed all the items back into the
backpack and stopped searching. Patrolwoman Wasser repeated her comment that she was making](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nywb5oene54cllowkfwouxzz/bafkreidr6h7nfhlc6gmfwmubtieiggbqmgm42khqtii2dazwfftvblmbxm@jpeg)
May 6, 2025 at 5:47 AM
So, local cops conducted a warrantless search of Luigi's backpack, realized they screwed up, admitted it on camera, put the backpack in a patrol car NOT sealed in an evidence bag (an 11 minute drive with no bodycam footage available), then searched the backpack again at the station and "found" a gun