I just found her unconscious on the toilet passed out pupils dilated unresponsive she had she had two glasses of wine over here it's gotta be more than that I'm grabbing her right now OK can you hold on to me you're OK I have a history of heart problems OK the meds are on the way yes OK can you walk with me yes no OK can you walk with me no no no let's let's walk out of the bathroom there I'm grabbing her right now OK can you hold on to me you're OK I made up the side uh I have a history of heart problems no no issues you're okay come on we we you come from the canter you're supposed to the candy the bar cross yeah you left your bag there you have a colorful bag right yes it's getting trying to get to Albuquerque what let's let's go outside let's go out here and sit down somewhere okay what do you need your backpack we have your backpack already we have you left it on the counter I'll make sure you don't fall you're okay you're okay I know they're here to help you okay let's go to let's grab a seat over here we're gonna go sit down okay okay we're gonna sit down real fast okay alright here this encounter begins under a doctrine that has nothing to do with crime The Supreme Court recognized in Katie versus Dambrowski that police serve a community caretaking function separate and distinct from any criminal investigation Texas adopted that exception in Wright versus state under it an officer may lawfully contact and assist a person who reasonably appears to need help a report of an unresponsive person in a public space squarely triggers that authority and the contact remains valid without any reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred okay what was your name again I'm sorry I'm Whitney Whitney I'm Officer Smith okay so what what what do you remember happening um haha you don't remember much you don't remember much OK you just know that you're at the Canet you have a little bit to drink yeah what did you what did you have to drink do you remember um some wine just a one wine one glass how many what are we talking here 2 he's here to help you it's okay two lines okay are you where are you from are you from this area are you where are you from Hey Whitney I'm gonna leave cause I have to go with my family you're safe now okay okay are you from the area Whitney yes like OK 9 8 2 2 we are you from the area coming I just found her unconscious on the toilet passed out pupils dilated unresponsive but once I kind of hit her and smacked her she had she had two glasses of wine over here it's gotta be more than that I know I cause I have her bag okay I looked through it her backpack I didn't see like any any kind of medicate well no not even that just any kind of medications that she may have taken or anything okay well I don't know her I've got to go this is my mom I've got to go no you're fine no no thank you guys for calling thanks for helping so she's trying to get to Albuquerque her name is Whitney and she's 32 she's here so can I leave her yeah you guys yeah you guys yeah you're good she's gonna be staying with us we got we got that ID hello hi but so I got your I got your backpack from the bar earlier okay okay yeah just grab that ID for me just don't want you miss coming up no okay bigger too can you cancel WMS and send me a transport up a level and she's 25 well get you your backpack in a second Baker 2 copy Baker 2 can you also open up reopen up that unattended item that I was just on it's gonna be her backpack now you can't find it now you can't find it OK Whitney you do traveling alone is Albuquerque home OK what brought you to Texas are you on a layover yes OK what time are you supposed to fly out why is that OK cause you're you're pretty intoxicated right now right yes and you you'd agree with that OK yes and you're in public you're by yourself you're passed out in the bathroom OK and like we got called on you to check you out OK people worry about you so I don't think that you could safely operate on your on your own accord right now okay that that makes sense you take any medication at all no no okay so what's what's gonna happen just stand up for me stand up stand up can you stand up okay yeah we're gonna take your we're gonna take your jacket off of you ooh alright gonna take your jacket off thank you alright so you're just gonna be under arrest for public intoxication OK you're just gonna sober up at the jail OK and that's it alright it's basically like getting a speeding ticket the only thing is you're coming with us to sober up alright i'mma get all your stuff I got your I got your bag in the office so I'm gonna take that out too you got it OK thank you yeah you just gotta go sober up OK what's up what's in your jacket right yes alright ready alright let's go and I go left the legal turning point is Texas Penal Code Section 49.02 public intoxication has three elements a public place intoxication and a degree of intoxication that may endanger the person or another the word may is decisive Texas courts treat the endangerment element as satisfied by potential danger alone the state does not have to prove actual harm a person too impaired to stand or to safeguard themselves in a busy airport meets that threshold easily the arrest is warrantless and that is lawful Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.01 authorizes an arrest for any offense committed in the officer's presence the Supreme Court closed the constitutional question in Atwater versus city of Lagovista a Texas case holding that a warrantless arrest for a fine only misdemeanor does not by itself violate the Fourth Amendment public intoxication is a Class C misdemeanor the lowest tier of offense yet the arrest authority remains the same so when you're sober enough they'll release you and then you can have your flight booked and fly out right now you gotta sleep it off a little bit a minimum of four hours okay MCR at 49 and 44 that employee went back upstairs to the customs area going higher and towards the processing area just sit down right here OK alright there you go we're gonna go to the front of this car real quick you don't have anything on you right no okay negative he did not touch you right back you're gonna face this car right here and just separate your feet okay separate your feet this officer's gonna Pat you down okay hey we're gonna go to the back seat OK the search before transport needs no separate justification once a custodial arrest is lawful the search of the arrestee follows automatically The Supreme Court held in United States versus Robinson that a lawful custodial arrest is itself full authority to search the person Chimel versus California defines the permissible scope of that search the arrestee and the area within immediate reach the pat down here falls cleanly inside that rule Miranda is the most commonly misunderstood Protection under Miranda versus Arizona warnings attach only to custodial interrogation care oriented questions asked during a welfare contact are not interrogation and an officer's own observations of intoxication establish the offense independently no incriminating statement was needed so no Fifth Amendment problem arises the closest legal and tactical question is the disposition itself protective custody for intoxication is a legitimate tool but it is not a substitute for medical clearance when a subject was reportedly unresponsive showed dilated pupils and stated a cardiac history the reasonable course is to confirm a medical evaluation before a jail cell is chosen over a hospital failing to document that clearance creates medical risk and civil liability exposure under Section 1983 on the grading cell phone download it download it do you need help or you got it are you alright no I'm good come on you gotta step out OK put your this leg over here there you go then the next one alright now I'm gonna help you okay you got it no okay here we go now step out there you go there you go alright alright come on let's walk okay stop right here and face the door right go ahead spread your feet for me face the door there you go spread your feet a little bit more you're coming out now let me do it you're coming out now okay let me do it again with the back of my hand okay the officer earns a B+ the arrest is legally supported the demeanor is calm and humane and the search is proper the grade stops short of an a because the medical clearance question is left unresolved on camera the subject also earns a B+ she was incapacitated yet remained cooperative honest and non resistant throughout the encounter doing everything within her limited capacity to keep it safe the department earns a B the response was prompt and protective but a clearer medical disposition protocol would reduce risk the lesson from this case is concise lawful authority and good intentions are not enough when medical red flags are present an arrest can be constitutionally valid and still be the wrong disposition if a possible emergency goes unexamined document the medical clearance and the protective purpose of the custody is fully served let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below thank you for watching and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more content on police court interactions