walking to work stopped by police and then arrested for under the influence of drugs fremont california?

Question

Anyone know the law regarding police stopping a person walking at 9am in the morning on a tuesday. Then arresting them for under the influence of drugs. tHIS HAPPENED TO SOMEONE i know in Fremont California.

No she was not staggering or acting in any way that she was under the influence. She was arrested taken to jail gave a sample and released. The cop stopped his car and said to her did I talk to you yesterday and she said no you did not and kept walking. His approach to her was the same as his approach to 2 kids the week before . She heard him detain a couple kids the week prior with the same line. By the way she is clean and that cop is a moron.

By the way as far as most are trained in DAR. I say B.S. I have first hand knowledge of this. I was driving higher than anyone in my truck when I was pulled over everyone in the truck was arrested except me for under the influence of meth. 2 police officers checked us 3 out and arrested the 2 that were not high. this happened on stevenson blvd in fremont . they are idiots maybe need to retake the class. But as far as a cop seeing someone walking minding their own business I say cop had no right to stop her she was walking not staggering not walking backwards or on her hands . I see no probable cause to stop her with some B.S. Line as did I talk to you yesterday.

Answer 1

there is no law....public street....cop...
jail, 9am has nothing ta do with anythg.......

Answer 2

Of course the police can't stop someone for "no reason." But if an officer sees someone walking down the street, nothing legally prevents him or her from walking right up to them and saying "hello" if they want to. As long as an officer is in a place where he/she has a right to be, they are allowed to observe and take action based on those observations.

Under the law, even a lay person is able to distinguish and testify whether they observed someone that looked intoxicated. Very likely, the officer saw objective symptoms of intoxication -- that is to say, signs that anyone could recognize. That gives the officer the right to detain someone for further investigation. If they broke any law walking down the street, such as jaywalking or littering, the police could likewise detain them for further investigation.

Being under the influence of drugs requires a bit more expertise -- but almost every officer has specific training so that they can recognize when someone is under the influence of drugs. If the officer can articulate those signs and symptoms in sufficient detail, the person can be arrested on probable cause.

When under arrest, the officer can compel a sample of body fluid - blood or urine - depending on the suspected drug. If the person refuses to provide a sample, that refusal can be used as evidence of "consciousness of guilt." If they do provide a sample and it's clear -- the officer can let them go and not charge them with a crime. Or if the lab results come back later and it's clear, no charges will be filed.

Everyone the police arrest does not have to be guilty, the officers only have to show there was probable cause that a crime was comitted. If the District Attorney is going to charge them with a crime in court, there has to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a higher standard of proof.

As many others have pointed out, you haven't provided the specific details to resolve your issue completely. The police are allowed to detain someone if there is reason to believe a crime is being comitted or is about to be comitted by the person they detain.

Answer 3

California is definitely not the only state that can charge DUI when a suspect is behind the wheel of a vehicle. If there are ignition keys accessible you can be arrested in my state as well.

As for "walking at 9am..," in my state that is referred to public intoxication! All 50 states have the same law including California.

Intoxication includes alcoholic beverages and illegal substances!

To stop an individual and then arrest them...the officer obviously had "reasonable suspicion" that something was amiss based upon the actions of the suspect. That "reasonable suspicion" would have graduated to "probable cause" based upon officers experience and observations of the suspect.

Instead of insinuating that the officer didn't do his job correctly...maybe you should consider he saved your friends life by getting him off the streets where he could have walked in front of an on-coming vehicle or otherwise causing himself injury!

As for D2Wards comments...

"Whatever happened to INNOCENT TIL PROVEN GUILTY??" ~ The police report violations...the courts determine guilt or innocense!

"Vote all the "thumbs down" you want, but all these law & order, shoot first ask questions later, cop-geek morons are on my last f*kin' nerve!" ~ You seem to have issues with law enforcement and I'm curious as to why! I've been an officer for over 30 years and NEVER shot first yet have been shot at, assaulted, resisted, spat upon, and for no reason other than doing the job the taxpayers expect of me!

"Then again, cops are never wrong. They are there to protect & serve, which they do without a single abuse of power or error in judgment." ~ Officers are human and subject to error in judgement...this is when the courts dismiss cases! I seriously doubt that when one is required to make split second decisions there are very few who can claim they're "perfect." It's seems that your comments are directed at ALL police which makes YOU very a stereotypical type which is sad! Just as in ANY profession...there are good and not so good. The difference in my profession is the good make every attempt to get rid of the crooked cops faster than anyone else whose broken the law! Don't blame the cops when you fail to comply with societies rules...blame the person at fault!

Best wishes.

Answer 4

So don't be under the influence of drugs.

11550 H&S is a misdemenor in California, it basically says you cannot be under the influence of a controlled substance.

Many of us are trained in what is called DAR - Drug Abuse Recognition, we have tests we can conduct in field to determine whether or not you are under the influence.

11550 is enforceable at any time of the day or not, if I see someone walking down the street, I can stop and talk to them. Once I suspect they are under the influence, I will conduct an evaluation, and depending on the results, I may arrest them for 11550 H&S.

Answer 5

This person would likely have to prove that there was no probable cause for stopping him. Since he got stopped and arrested, he'd probably have trouble with that. And just for the record, the law does not change based on the time of day or day of the week. The fact that it was 9 AM on Tuesday will have little bearing on his case, except to maybe make him look worse.

Answer 6

They could have arrested the person for public intoxication, i am sure there is another term that is used if the person is high. If he was innocent, then he shouldn't have anything to worry about, but if he is guilty of being under the influence of a narcotic, then the police did nothing wrong in arresting him.

Answer 7

Whatever happened to INNOCENT TIL PROVEN GUILTY??

Vote all the "thumbs down" you want, but all these law & order, shoot first ask questions later, cop-geek morons are on my last f*kin' nerve!

Then again, cops are never wrong. They are there to protect & serve, which they do without a single abuse of power or error in judgment.


>edit
KC V, Are you kidding me? "As for "walking at 9am..," in my state that is referred to public intoxication!" Would you mind telling which is your state so I won't go for a morning stroll there, for fear of being tossed in jail?!??
The question posed makes no mention of the guy wobbling, stumbling, jaywalking, missing any articles of clothing, or otherwise acting in a manner that was socially unacceptable. He was walking to work, for goodness' sake. When did that become illegal or an indicator of intoxication?

Answer 8

California is the only State I know that can nail you for drunk driving and you haven't even started the car! I'm sure if you look intoxicated or appear high they can question you without any recourse. IF it is a false charge or bad arrest you may get off.

Answer 9

I suspect you're not sharing some details here, but I'll go with what you've given us. Walking under the influence is not a crime, but public intoxication *is*. I'd venture to guess that this "friend" was doing something besides *JUST* 'walking'.

Answer 10

if the person exerted signs of intoxication in public then the police may stop and make an investigation into is the individual intoxicated in public

the pupils could have been dilated, could have confess, smelled like pot, slur words when speaking to the officers

Answer 11

No, they should have left him alone to stagger into the street and get ran over. In California it is probably illegal to walk on Tuesdays. Who knows with them?