Vehicle inventory searches are more likely to withstand Fourth Amendment scrutiny when officers follow standardized policies that clearly limit discretion. In Henderson v. Village of New Holland, the 6th Circuit upheld an inventory search that included opening a locked container, finding the agency’s policy provided sufficient direction. The decision shows why clear vehicle inventory policies help distinguish legitimate caretaking searches from searches conducted primarily to find evidence.
Henderson v. Village of New Holland, 2026 WL 2276895 (6th Cir. 2026)
A good police policy does more than tell officers what to do. It helps demonstrate that officers are exercising legitimate law enforcement authority rather than simply making decisions based on personal preference. That’s one reason Lexipol was founded: to help law enforcement agencies better protect the public and their officers by creating policies that are up to date and compliant with current laws, regulations, court decisions, and community standards.
The 6th Circuit provided a good example in Henderson v. Village of New Holland.
In New Holland, Ohio, Officers William Lawless and Darnell Pate stopped Cody Henderson for driving a Prius with expired registration tags. This was not their first encounter with Henderson or the unregistered Prius. Officer Lawless had previously cited Henderson and warned him he could not legally drive the car until he renewed the registration.
When the officers stopped Henderson for driving the still-unregistered Prius yet again, they decided to impound it. In accordance with agency policy, they informed Henderson they needed to conduct an inventory search. (Henderson objected to the search and eventually was arrested for obstructing official business.) During the inventory process, the officers found a large black tote secured with a padlock. They forced it open and discovered large quantities of hemp, CBD, and similar substances. Unsure whether the substances were legal, the officers consulted a sheriff’s deputy and the county prosecutor’s office. Testing ultimately showed that the substances were legal forms of hemp, and the charges against Henderson were dismissed.
“Inventory searches are an exception to the warrant requirement, but they cannot be used as a pretext for a general search for evidence.”
Henderson sued. Among his claims, Henderson argued the inventory search violated the Fourth Amendment because the officers did not fully comply with department policy and because the policy did not specifically tell officers whether they could open locked containers. The court rejected both arguments.
Inventory searches are an exception to the warrant requirement, but they cannot be used as a pretext for a general search for evidence. Officers must act according to standardized criteria or an established routine that limits individual discretion. That is where a sound policy becomes important.
The New Holland Police Department policy told officers an inventory was required when a vehicle was impounded. It also addressed the scope of the inventory, directing officers to conduct a complete physical inventory of the vehicle’s contents. The court concluded those provisions provided sufficient guidance to account for the locked tote.
The court also rejected Henderson’s argument that deviations from the policy made the search unconstitutional. The officers had not perfectly completed the required inventory paperwork. But as the court explained, the Fourth Amendment does not require mechanical compliance with every minute detail of an agency policy. Minor administrative failures do not transform an otherwise legitimate inventory into an unconstitutional search. A policy is not the Constitution, and minimal violations of an agency policy do not automatically establish a constitutional violation. But that does not mean policy is unimportant. Quite the opposite.
A well-written policy establishes legitimate objectives, identifies when authority may be exercised, defines its scope, and places reasonable limits on officer discretion. In an inventory search case, those features can help demonstrate that the search was actually conducted for a caretaking purpose rather than as a convenient excuse to look for evidence.
Poor policies create the opposite problem. A policy that merely says officers “may inventory vehicles” leaves unanswered the questions most likely to matter later. When may a vehicle be impounded? When must an inventory occur? What areas may officers search? What should officers do with closed or locked containers? How should property be documented and safeguarded?
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Those questions should be answered at the chief’s desk in a written policy, not for the first time alongside an impounded vehicle at 0200 hrs. The lesson from Henderson extends well beyond inventory searches. Policies governing pursuits, force, emergency driving, body cameras, vehicle impoundment, searches, and other discretionary police activities should provide officers enough direction to make sound decisions without attempting to prescribe every possible circumstance.
Good policies do not eliminate officer discretion. They give it structure.
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