TX: Community caretaking excuse for stop was unsupported and motion to suppress should have been granted

The state failed to prove that defendant’s stop was required by the community caretaking function, and the motion to suppress should have been granted. Salinas v. State, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 1605 (Tex. App. — San Antonio February 28, 2007):

We engage in a two-step analysis to determine the propriety of a stop pursuant to the community caretaking function. First, we determine whether the police officer was motivated by a community caretaking purpose and second, we determine whether the police officer’s belief that the individual needed help was reasonable. See Corbin, 85 S.W.3d at n2; see also Wright, 7 S.W.3d at 151. Here, the trial court, as fact-finder and the exclusive judge of credibility, could have determined DeHoyos was primarily motivated by community caretaking concerns. As to the second issue, when deciding whether an officer has an objectively reasonable belief someone needs help, we consider the following: “(1) the nature and level of distress exhibited by the individual; (2) the location of the individual; (3) whether or not the individual was alone and/or had access to assistance other than that offered by the officer; and (4) to what extent the individual, if not assisted, presented a danger to himself or others.” Id.

1. Level of distress. The first factor is entitled to the greatest weight because “the purpose of the community caretaking exception is to allow an officer to ‘seize’ and assist an individual whom he reasonably believes is in need of help.” Corbin, 85 S.W.3d at 277. “The greater the nature and level of distress exhibited, the more likely the police involvement will be a reasonable exercise of the community caretaking function.” Id. The weight of the first factor alone will not always be dispositive; instead, the remaining three factors help to give more definition to the first factor. Id. “A particular level of exhibited distress may be seen as more or less serious depending on the presence or absence of the remaining three factors.” Id.

According to DeHoyos, the only distress exhibited by Salinas was his moving through the intersection instead of immediately turning left or right, and finally making the turn when he was about five feet from the curb. DeHoyos asserted he could not understand why a driver would make the mistake Salinas made because the area was well-lit and any driver could see nothing was straight ahead except grass and the traffic light. However, DeHoyos admitted nothing else suggested the driver or anyone in the vehicle was in distress. Given the fact that DeHoyos observed no other problems with the driver’s operation of the van and that the driver appeared to immediately respond to the use of the police emergency lights, we conclude the nature and level of distress exhibited to be very low.

2. Location. The second factor emphasizes the location of the individual. Through his testimony, DeHoyos indicated Highway 90 and Zarzamora are well-traveled roadways and DeHoyos described the area at the T-intersection as “well-lit.” DeHoyos testified it was not “a very friendly area” because there were “a lot of courts” [sic] behind the Exxon station. However, the Exxon station was open for business. We conclude this factor weighs neither for nor against the stop.

3. Available assistance. The third factor analyzes whether the individual was alone or had assistance other than that offered by the police officer. DeHoyos said he could not see inside the van when he was stopped behind it at the red light and he did not know before the stop whether anyone other than the driver was inside the van. Although the Exxon station was in the immediate vicinity of the stop and the station was open, because DeHoyos could not determine if Salinas was alone or capable of seeking help, this factor weighs in favor of the stop.

4. Danger to himself or others. The extent to which an individual without assistance would present a danger to himself or others correlates to the nature and level of distress reasonably perceived. DeHoyos first observed Salinas when he saw the van stopped at a red light. Salinas did not begin to move until after the light turned green, at which point he proceeded straight ahead before making his turn. However, although Salinas initially proceeded straight through the intersection, he made his turn and then proceeded to the Exxon station after DeHoyos activated his overhead lights. DeHoyos failed to articulate any other action by Salinas that indicated he was a danger to himself or others. DeHoyos admitted there were no other vehicles on the road and Salinas did not impede any traffic. Thus, it appears that there is little objective evidence that Salinas posed danger to himself or others, and this factor weighs against the stop.

Defendant’s bizarre behavior justified a stop and a patdown, but it was apparent that defendant did not have a weapon on him, and emptying his pockets was too intrusive. State v. Watson, 143 Idaho 840, 153 P.3d 1186 (2007):

Because the officer intentionally removed the items that could not have been weapons when it was unnecessary to do so in order to remove the toothpaste container, he acted unreasonably and not in a minimally intrusive fashion. We hold that the officer exceeded the scope of a pat-down search for weapons when he emptied Watson’s pocket. If evidence is not seized pursuant to a recognized exception to the warrant requirement, the evidence discovered as a result of the illegal search must be excluded as the fruit of the poisonous tree. State v. Van Dorne, 139 Idaho 961, 963, 88 P.3d 780, 782 (Ct. App. 2004). The baggy of methamphetamine that the officer removed from Watson’s pocket was therefore the fruit of an unreasonable search and should have been suppressed.

State § 1983 claim of excessive force fails on plaintiff’s deposition that officers were professional and did not use excessive force. Thompson v. Faddis, 2007 Ohio 891, 2007 Ohio App. LEXIS 810 (11th Dist. March 2, 2007).*