MassCops - Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network, A Mass Police Web Portal

Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network

Massachusetts Police News, Information and Discussions on MassCops



Pages: 1

Main Page

Two real world DUI case studies: What would you do?

(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)


Posted by: kwflatbed

By Ken Wallentine

DUI traffic stop became unintentional de facto arrest requiring suppression

An off-duty trooper and his friend were driving on a rural dirt road when they came upon a truck parked in the middle of the road. Worwood, the driver of the truck, got into the truck and drove it to the side of the road to allow the trooper and his friend to pass. The trooper noticed a wet spot in the dirt, a beer can, and a cooler. The trooper pulled along side the truck and spoke with Worwood. The trooper pulled his vehicle alongside Worwood's to speak to him. During the conversation, the trooper observed that Worwood had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Getting out of his vehicle and moving closer to Worwood, the trooper could smell alcohol on Worwood's breath.
The trooper believed that Worwood was too impaired to be driving. Lacking a cell phone or radio, the trooper told Worwood that he could not let him drive and asked Worwood to come with him to the trooper’s home. The trooper’s friend drove Worwood’s truck to a farm nearby and called for an on-duty officer to respond to the trooper’s home. After SFST’s, Worwood was arrested for DUI. His BAC test results were .248. Worwood later claimed that he had been illegally seized and subject to a de facto arrest. The Court of Appeals ruled that Worwood had been the subject of a legitimate investigatory detention and that driving him a short distance to the trooper’s home was a reasonable extension of the detention.


Full Article: http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/1634977/



Posted by: PearlOnyx

Case law aside, seems like a safety nightmare to me. Personally, seems like a terrible idea to take law enforcement action with a non-LEO present, who you could place in danger, with no means of communication if the stuff hits the fan. I'm assuming the friend with the Trooper is a non-LEO, since they didn't mention that he was. Even worse, for letting the friend drive the truck to the house (doesn't mention who drives the drunk in which vehicle). Even "worser" for taking an offender to your home!

That aside, there are situations where you should legally be able to take a suspect a reasonable amount of distance away from the scene to do FST's. First thing that comes to mind is a crash investigation in the driving rain. Not going to have someone do FST's in tropical storm force winds and driving rain. A trip under the hood at the local gas station will suffice. It seems like in this case the attorney for the state failed to bring up officer safety as a valid reason for the detention and tranport.



Posted by: sdb29

What would I have done?

"Hey man- Thanks for moving the truck!"

Continue down the road.



Posted by: OutOfManyOne

Wow, WTF was he thinking? I'd be driving around him and on my way home.



Posted by: csauce777

Quote:
Originally Posted by OutOfManyOne
Wow, WTF was he thinking? I'd be driving around him and on my way home.


Why on earth would you bring some drunk to your own house? If he's bent on locking the guy up, and youre gonna drive him anywhere, why not to a main road where you can flag someone down, or to a gas station, etc? Not real bright in my opinion.



Posted by: Sniper

WTF ???? Any idea what state this took place in ????



Posted by: buckeddy

You can learn a lot from a dummy! (Both of them defendant and trooper)



Posted by: jettsixx

Did he know the individual? There is no way in hell I would ever bring someone to my house. Who doesnt have a Cell phone these days?





ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops

About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.

The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.

The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.

The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.

The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.

MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)



vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
vB Easy Archive Final ©2000 - 2008 - Created by Stefan "Xenon" Kaeser

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 49 50 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108