WICHITA, Kan. – There’s a video circulating online of a Wichita couple going live on Facebook as they claim they’ve found their stolen vehicles at a residence in the city… they’re seen holding someone at gunpoint, while police are called. Dan Monnat says it can be dangerous when individual citizens take the law into their own hands, but it can be legal depending on the circumstances….
For months, the disappearance of Lucas Hernandez has been on the minds of many in this community, including criminal defense attorney Dan Monnat. “Speculation in these cases is always to be avoided. Science and medicine will tell us the manner in which Lucas Hernandez died, whether that’s by criminal means or by natural causes or accident….”
The Sedgwick County DA won’t be filing charges yet against the stepmother of Lucas Hernandez, a move that Dan Monnat says stems from “…diligent law enforcement officers and a wise and cautious District Attorney…. They have to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child died of criminal means….”
What can police do, and not do, when they visit your home? Police intentionally turned and blocked a security camera, and defense attorney Dan Monnat tells KSN News, “It is an invasion of your privacy.” Without a warrant, Monnat thinks this was a clear violation of the 4th amendment….
WINFIELD, Kan. – A victim of alleged racial profiling is considering legal action after he was stopped for a turn signal violation and an officer questioned some vegetation that was found on his car… Attorney Dan Monnat says a lot of questions remain. “Did the law enforcement officer really have a solid basis for immediately concluding that the vegetative matter on the window sill of the car was really contraband,” asks Monnat?
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man wanted in Kansas has waived extradition proceedings in California and will face a felony allegation that he made a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of a Wichita resident. Dan Monnat tells KAKE TV the man could face serious charges like “second degree murder, which is a human being killed unintentionally but recklessly, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life….”
BARBER COUNTY, Kan. – KSN has obtained body cam footage of the moments leading up to and after a man was shot and killed by a Barber County Sheriff’s Deputy. The man’s family is pressing for more footage. KSN asked Dan Monnat if it is common for a judge to order release of a video: “I don’t think it is common, but it out to be common because transparency is exactly what we should have…”
WICHITA – Drivers that were issued tickets during a now-suspended Wichita Police camera-based traffic enforcement pilot program, must pay their fines. Some people are wondering if the system is legal, so KAKE asked attorney Dan Monnat to weigh in. “We may not like living in a high-tech world of “big brother-like” recordation of our every public action, but that doesn’t mean it’s unconstitutional,” Monnat said….
Wichita police are using 97 cameras to monitor the Old Town area for safety. Now, some of those cameras are being used for traffic enforcement. KSN Legal Expert Dan Monnat says, “You have no reasonable expectation of privacy in actions or driving behaviors that you knowingly display to the general public….”
Video of a Saline County traffic stop has gone viral, showing a deputy asking the driver and passenger for their license and ID, which they say they don’t need to produce. Dan Monnat explains drivers’ rights and asks, “Was the officer’s use of force reasonable or overkill…”
