They broke in his door because no one was home, and they'll pay for the damage. That's pretty much SOP when executing a warrant. I believe that the contention

They broke in his door because no one was home, and they'll pay for the damage. That's pretty much SOP when executing a warrant. I believe that the contention of the police is that perhaps the facts aren't all public. They want to know exactly what exchanges too place between Gizmodo and Hogan (or whoever Hogan's go-between was), and I think that's reasonable. Did they ask where the phone came from? Did they ask if attempts had been made to return it? Do the dates of those correspondences match up with the stories both sides are telling? Etc.