Damn Tom, he had a lot of nerve searching your property without a warrant. Good thing you hadn't moved your plants outdoors yet. He might be coming back with a warrant if you had, and had any illegal plants.
See how easy it is for the law to just do as they please... there may have been a 'creeper' but then again he might have just said there was in case your dog had woken you and peaked out the window.
You might think about putting a lock on your gate if the yard is fenced in.
Take care and leave those plants inside for while, I'd hate for the cop to get a bunch cactus thorns in him if he tripped and fell.
Sult