Police tried to use dead man's finger to unlock phone
- 6 years ago
LARGO, FLORIDA — Florida authorities are now under fire for recently going to a funeral home and used a dead man's finger to try to unlock his phone as part of their investigation.
According to Tampa Bay Times, 31-year-old Linus Phillip was killed by Largo police after attempting to drive away before an officer could search him.
When Phillip's wife was at Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home in Clearwater mourning over the death of her husband, two detectives showed up with her husband's phone.
The detectives were hoping to unlock the phone with Phillip's hand to get more information about a drug case that's linked with him.
However, this didn't work.
Several legal experts said it was okay for the cops to do this as there's no privacy after death. However, Phillip's family said they were disrespected and disturbed by the police's actions.
Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University College of Law told the Tampa Bay Times that dead men certainly don't have rights, but using a corpse at a funeral home for the drug case is questionable.
According to Tampa Bay Times, 31-year-old Linus Phillip was killed by Largo police after attempting to drive away before an officer could search him.
When Phillip's wife was at Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home in Clearwater mourning over the death of her husband, two detectives showed up with her husband's phone.
The detectives were hoping to unlock the phone with Phillip's hand to get more information about a drug case that's linked with him.
However, this didn't work.
Several legal experts said it was okay for the cops to do this as there's no privacy after death. However, Phillip's family said they were disrespected and disturbed by the police's actions.
Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University College of Law told the Tampa Bay Times that dead men certainly don't have rights, but using a corpse at a funeral home for the drug case is questionable.