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

DennistheMenace

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

Sara

shouldnt J walk on middle of the road

Chris

There's a simple solution to this: don't take drugs. Stupidity comes with a price.

brooklyn7582

Were you under the influence??????? If so, then they had a right to stop and arrest. Something must have been up for them to stop you or they wouldn't have.

KC V â„¢

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.

Pfo

You are missing the most important piece of information: was this individual actually under the influence of drugs?

goz1111

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

david c

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.

Harleigh

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'.

mikeysco

I know the laws surrounding this pretty darn well - I do it all the time.

What is it you want to know? You're asking for what could be an entire semester's worth of constitutional or penal law and I don't think that's what you're really looking for.

More details might help.

And no, you can't be "nailed" for drunk driving in this state without even starting a car...if you don't drive, you're not going to be convicted. It's kind of a requirement of DRIVING while intoxicated, in fact.

Also, because California is one of the very few states who has such a law, even many of my brethren do not know that in this state, it *IS* illegal to be under the influence of a controlled substance (without a prescription) no matter where you are or what you are doing. So yes, you can be arrested for walking down the street and minding your own business if you're high - marijuana being the exception, of course.

grumpyoldman

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?

patriotwww

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.

rockstar44

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.

Misanthrope

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.

don c

mUST HAVE BEEN DOING SOME PRETTY IRADICAL SH.T

trueblue3167

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.

Chmcris

As long as the person is on a public street or sidewalk. The police have the right to stop you.

person

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?

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