What color pants was the father wearing?

So how does it work that the police sometimes need search warrants but other times can just bust in and roust people?

Seriously, when is a search warrant required, when is it not needed, and which case applies here?

They needed a search warrant. I'm not a lawyer, so I won't speculate on situations where they wouldn't.

They sounded not-white, also when the cops broke in they responded with fear and questions so obviously there was something situational and temporary that justified the cops actions. I bet the dude was a terrorist for like 2 min before the cops bravely realized he was dead.

Good Morning Charles,
First of all, my condolences to the family. A most unfortunate confluence of events.

Yes, the NYPD is held accountable. And, I believe they will settle with the family. However, far more accountable is the perp (the fellow with the red pants who initially punched the young woman, took the iPhone & fled). Alas, he remains at large. None of this would have happened if the assailant hadn't assaulted the woman in the first place.

@2: The term you're looking for is "exigent circumstances", ie. emergency situations that require an immediate response where it would be unreasonable to wait to get a warrant, such as a person calling for help or a criminal running into a building. They also could have been invited inside.

All this could have been avoided if cell phone carriers would agree to block devices reported as stolen, reducing the resale value to near zero.

Cops certainly are a source of terror for a lot of people. A source of terror that comes from the state. State terror, you might call it.

@7- AT&T now allows you to call and have the IMEI# (serial code) of your stolen phone added to a list, and anyone calling to activate a phone on that list gets their account permanantly frozen.

@2: Police can search a house, car, tent, etc. without a warrant if they have probable cause (e.g., they see illegal activity, illegal substances, or criminal suspect through a window).

While I'm not a fan these kinds of Gestapo tactics, the thief would also bear some culpability in this. Also the thief could have caused the death of the he punched woman. So your ironic framing is a bit lopsided here.

correction: "the woman he punched...'
damn it.

"Cops eventually found the woman’s cellphone by 'using her Find My iPhone app.'"

Nobody thought of that shit BEFORE busting into the apartment of an innocent family?

If exigent circumstances applied the police wouldn't be lying about busting in the door. Sheesh. Police apologists will excuse anything.