Allen

MEMORANDUM *

Cedric Allen appeals the district court’s order denying his motion to suppress evidence. 1 Allen was arrested inside a motel room in Spokane, Washington, after Sergeant Brad Thoma climbed through an unlocked window and discovered in plain view evidence of narcotics trafficking. 2 Because Thoma did not have a search warrant when he entered the motel room, Allen argued that the district court should suppress the evidence found inside the room. The government urged that Thoma lawfully entered the motel room under the emergency doctrine. The district court denied Allen’s motion to suppress.

The emergency doctrine permits a police officer to enter a residence without a warrant if the facts available to the officer support a reasonable belief “that a person within is in need of immediate aid.” Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392 , 98 S.Ct. 2408 , 57 L.Ed.2d 290 (1978). To invoke the emergency doctrine, the government must satisfy three criteria:

United States v. Cervantes, 219 F.3d 882, 888 (9th Cir.2000) (quoting People v. Mitchell, 39 N.Y.2d 173 , 383 N.Y.S.2d 246 , 347 N.E.2d 607, 609 (1976)). Allen does not dispute that the government satisfied the second and third…