Assata Co-op residents complained of alleged civil-liberties abuses Monday after they refused to allow officers into their home to arrest one of the housing’s tenants.

According to co-op roommate and former University of Wisconsin student Nathan Littrell, he and his roommates argued with seven police officers for nearly half an hour Monday afternoon when the officers could not provide documentation of a warrant to enter the residence, although the woman the police sought eventually turned herself in. Littrell said police reasoned that they were in “hot pursuit,” meaning they did not need permission to enter the 225 E. Lakelawn Place residence.

Officers also issued a $412 citation to an Assata tenant who locked police out of the house, Littrell said.

“The sergeant told one of our housemates he had a sledgehammer in the trunk and would tear down the door,” Littrell said. “All we wanted was to see documentation of the warrant.”

Lt. Cameron McClay said Madison Police Department policy does not require officers to produce documentation of warrants, and they can pursue suspects “in good faith” after notification that a warrant has been granted. McClay also said police can legally cite anyone obstructing police objectives, and officers are entitled to operate under “hot pursuit” standards, where they can freely enter the suspect’s home, after a several-minute delay in pursuing the suspect.

However, Littrell said he took issue with the officers’ contentions that they were in “pursuit” of the tenant because she had not left her house yet that day.

“She had not just run back to the house; she lives here,” Littrell said.

UW law professor Donald Downs said if the officers were not in hot pursuit, they had no legal right to attempt to enter the home without the residents’ consent.

“If the woman is a resident of the co-op, the protector doesn’t have to let them in,” Downs said.

Littrell said he informed The Badger Herald of the incident because he wanted students to be aware of their civil liberties.

“One of the officers told us it is our duty as citizens not to question a police officer and do exactly what they say,” Littrell said. “We just didn’t want our rights to be trampled on.”

The officers involved in the incident were unavailable for comment, and the officer in charge provided no information regarding the arrest.