Is it actually legal for a cop to commandeer a car on the spot, like they do in the movies?

No warrant, apparently in violation of the 4th Amendment?

I think that it's important to know, because without exception, the cops find all kinds of ways to wreck the commandeered vehicles while in pursuit of the bad guys.

in 20 yrs of law enforcement, i have never heard of a cop commandeering a vehicle. i'm not saying it has never happened, but it's gotta be exceedingly rare.

the closest i can think of to "commandeering" is during the infamous bank robbery in la (suspects had full autos and body armor), the line cops ran to gun stores to commandeer rifles, since the stupid LAPD administration didn't see fit to equip them with them.

Which makes me wonder if the gun store owner billed the city, and if so, did the city reimbursed the gun store owner.

i would assume, knowing a few gun store owners, that they were more than happy to turn over the rifles to cops in order to save lives during an active shooting.

otoh, i would HOPE that LAPD/LA did right by the store owners - at a minimum some sort of civilian award for aiding the police in a time of need, or something like that.

te constitution says seizures must be "reasonable". that is of course a subjective standard and there is TONS of case law on this.

i honestly have never heard of any case law on the subject of commandeering vehicles.

i know cops have commandeered residences, though. like when a shooting suspect is holed up in a house, cops will use a neighboring house for a command center and to possibly get a position to surveil and fire. the cops "ask", but it's essentially a demand. 10 cops with rifles and tactical armor show up at your door, tell you there's an active shooter in the neighborhood and they need your house.

i would guess (since i haven't read case law on this) that courts would view this as a reasonable seizure due to

1) the reason for the seizure (not to gather evidence, but to save lives)
2) the immediacy of the threat
etc.

I think they donated the money to the LAPD Benevolence Fund (or whatever they call it). The weapons weren't used because SWAT took over the situation.

Just wanted to interject that, as I agree that the gun shop acted in the best interest of the police and citizens. Besides, you just can't buy that kind of advertisement. "When the going got tough, the cops came to us."

(line from Fletch)

He felt the paramedic on the ambulance was providing sub-standard care, so he relieved the paramedic of patient care and took command of the ambulance.

Just sayin'