[music]
>> Sweetheart, it's my birthday. I'm 51. I
probably had My husband gave me two
shots.
>> The only reason is that I walk I walk
into her place.
>> Okay.
>> And
they were saying sing happy birthday.
It's your pretty first birthday.
And it was my birthday today, too. So,
everybody celebrate.
>> I'll add another charge. Do you
understand me?
>> You just got assaulted a police officer.
Congratulations. I don't think she ever
actually went unconscious. I think she
was faking. Cuz when did that siren go
off? That's when she woke up.
>> Sweetheart, it's my birthday. I'm 51. I
probably had My husband gave me two
shots.
>> The only reason is that I walk I walk
into her place.
>> Okay.
>> And
they were saying sing happy birthday.
It's your pretty first birthday.
And it was my birthday today, too. So,
everybody celebrate.
>> My husband gave me two shots.
>> Do you know her?
>> No.
>> I don't
>> Airport?
>> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> I know exactly where I'm at.
I probably got her very early in the
morning.
>> Okay.
>> And now what? I was like very late.
>> Okay. Have you had anything to eat
today?
>> Yes.
>> How long ago was that?
>> Um I had like some What did I eat? Some
peanuts, right?
>> Mhm.
>> Are you serious? Sweetheart.
>> I got to make sure you're good, and
right now
>> Sir, my purse my
>> Sir.
>> You can just make sure that black dude
doesn't get away.
>> Yeah. Is that the guy?
>> That's not going to happen.
>> I know you can do.
>> We got to
I got to make sure you're good, all
right?
>> I'm good. I'm good.
Okay, what are you going to do with me?
>> Well, right now what we're going to do
is we're going to you're going to be
placed under arrest for public
intoxication, okay? So, put your hands
behind your back.
I just I think you're a danger to
yourself and and that's that you have
that you have that right.
>> I got to loosen up on this left one.
>> [snorts]
>> I'm going to watch out.
>> Public intoxication under Texas Penal
Code Section 49.02
is a Class C misdemeanor punishable only
by a fine of up to $500. The statute is
narrow. Intoxication alone is not a
crime. The state must prove the person
was intoxicated in a public place to a
degree that may endanger the person or
another. That danger element is the
entire case. Without an articulable risk
to the subject or to others, the arrest
collapses, regardless of how impaired
the person appears. A common question is
whether an officer may take someone into
custody for an offense that carries no
jail time. The answer is yes. In Atwater
versus City of Lago Vista, decided in
2001, the Supreme Court held that the
Fourth Amendment does not forbid a
warrantless custodial arrest for a minor
fine-only offense, so long as the
officer has probable cause. The officer
therefore had discretion between a
citation and a custodial arrest.
Choosing custody on these facts was
lawful.
>> Well, another one for the road.
>> Stand here.
Hey, stand here.
>> [ __ ] you.
>> Okay, that's fine.
>> Yeah, [ __ ] you. Okay. That was fun.
Dude, I didn't do anything wrong.
You mother
>> Hey, we're not going to do that. If you
do that again, we're going to grab you.
You stand still. That's fine. You can
hit me all you want.
>> What are you going to do?
>> If you start kicking, we're going to put
you on the ground, okay?
You start kicking, we'll put you on the
ground.
>> I didn't do anything wrong.
I didn't do anything wrong.
Here, we're going to Oh, oh, this is a
drunk girl.
You want everyone to keep walking?
>> [clears throat]
>> I don't know what you're saying, man. We
don't need you. You're good.
>> We'll come get you for your phone later.
>> I know. We'll get you in a minute, dude.
We'll do something.
>> Stop. Don't pull away.
>> I'm going to walk over here.
>> Okay.
Do not do that. Do not do that.
>> got another charge. Do you understand
me?
>> You just got assault on a peace officer.
Congratulations.
>> You just got assault on a peace officer.
Stand back up. We're going to the car.
Do that again, you're going to go to the
ground again. Do not do that.
Stop.
Stop. [screaming]
>> Get up.
>> Stand up.
>> Get up.
>> Stay standing. Do not Do not do that
again.
>> [crying]
>> Do not go down to the ground again. Just
walk, okay?
>> I can't walk.
>> You can walk.
>> I might need something to drink, though.
>> Just walk to the car.
You can do it.
We're almost there.
>> [screaming]
>> Keep walking.
>> [screaming]
>> Well, if you would have just walked it
wouldn't hurt so bad.
Stand up.
I'm grabbing my taser.
Do not kick again, okay? You already
caught a charge. Don't make it worse for
yourself.
>> The use of force is governed by Graham
versus Connor, decided in 1989. Under
that standard, force is judged from the
perspective of a reasonable officer on
the scene, not with hindsight. Courts
weigh the severity of the offense, the
immediacy of any threat, and whether the
subject is actively resisting. Here, the
underlying offense was minor, which cuts
against any heavy use of force, but
active resistance and the safety risk of
an unsteady, combative subject in a
crowded terminal weigh the other way.
The most consequential legal moment is
the physical contact with the officer.
Texas law offers two very different
paths. Under Section 22.01,
causing bodily injury to a peace officer
who is lawfully performing a duty is a
second-degree felony, punishable by up
to 20 years. Under Section 38.03,
resisting arrest requires only the use
of force against an officer and is a
Class A misdemeanor. Two features of of
resisting statute deserve emphasis.
First, it does not require that the
underlying arrest be lawful. By statute,
it is no defense that the arrest was
unlawful. Second, the choice between
felony assault and misdemeanor resisting
rested with the officer and the
prosecutor, not with the statute.
Electing the lesser charge was an
exercise of discretion that favored the
subject.
>> Stop.
Stop.
All right, go and sit in the car, okay?
>> [crying]
>> Get in the car.
Look, you can sit in there I can lift
you on the arm. You got to get in the
car. Thank you.
>> [crying]
[screaming]
>> Hey, sit up in the seat. Do you want me
to help you sit up, ma'am?
All right, we need you to sit up. You
can't
You can't ride like this. We need you to
sit up.
So, you think you can sit up?
Do you want me to help you sit up,
ma'am?
All right.
I'm going to pull your arm, okay? Ready?
>> I can't.
>> One, two, three, and sit up. You're not
going to do it? All right.
>> [snorts]
>> Say what now?
>> The uh
She put something out of her bag
inside this I definitely saw her trying
to say.
>> Oh.
>> And I got pee on my hand.
>> Disgusting.
Did she get to get or no?
Did she kick you good or no?
>> She kind of caught my
back inside of my leg, but it wasn't
like a full connection.
>> She's going to do a resisting or just
>> Oh, resisting.
>> Okay.
Yeah, you're good.
>> Man, I told you you saw we were dealing
with something. I was trying to
Okay, well,
right now there's nothing I can do cuz
I'm I'm doing something.
Very serious now.
It's somebody took my bag.
>> Okay, if you need to call 911, go ahead
and call 911 in there and they'll get an
officer to you, okay? We're dealing with
something else right now.
>> My GPS is in the bag.
>> Did you hear what I said?
>> Huh?
>> Did you hear what I said? I said go
inside, you should call 911, an officer
will come to you, all right?
It's a
I don't know what that is.
I don't know.
>> No, it's it's a Well, it's got to be
fine.
That is you. I have I have to do it so
long, man, on the clock.
>> Put you in the bar or something.
>> What's the last thing?
You make sure she's not on a flight.
>> Um if she's on a flight,
we hold her.
>> Intoxication. She's unresponsive.
>> Hey, wake up.
>> Hey.
>> Wake up. Wake up.
>> Get her up.
Get her up.
>> 48 seizures in the last two days.
>> 48 seizures in the last two
>> All right, let's lift her up.
>> Yeah, that's what you do.
>> Can you sit up, ma'am?
>> That's what you did to
>> Can you try to sit up?
>> I hate you.
>> I told you how did you do this?
Nobody can help you.
>> All the way up.
>> You little [ __ ]
>> Ma'am.
Ma'am, can you sit up, ma'am?
Shoot.
Come on, get up.
Get her up.
>> [screaming]
>> All right.
Good luck to you, sir. Take care.
>> Hey, please send a
photo of the dinner.
>> Will do.
Will do.
No, I did not.
>> No.
>> I couldn't find my ID. Just um
that name on the pill bottles, that's
all I got.
Oh.
It was South Carolina.
>> [laughter]
>> South Carolina?
So, I don't think she
What did you hurt? Oh, well. So,
I don't think she ever actually went
unconscious. I think she was faking cuz
when did that sternum rub, that's when
she woke up.
Yeah.
>> One further legal duty applies once a
person is in custody. The arresting
agency assumes responsibility for that
person's medical welfare. Assessing
consciousness and distinguishing genuine
distress from feigned unresponsiveness
is part of that duty. A missed medical
emergency can expose both the individual
and the agency to grave consequences.
>> Our car is 10-8.
>> The grades follow from this analysis.
The arresting officer earns a B plus. He
built the danger element through
deliberate questioning, warned before
each escalation, and declined the
available felony in favor of the lesser
charge. Audible profanity from officers
is a principal deduction. The subject
earns a D plus. Heavy impairment
explains but does not excuse conduct
that converted a fine only offense into
independent criminal exposure for
resisting. The credit she retains is
narrow. No weapon, no flight, and no
serious injury. The department earns a
B. Coordinated, graduated, and welfare
conscious with professionalism gaps that
keep it from a higher mark. Two lessons
stand out from this encounter. For
anyone detained, even wrongly, the law
rewards compliance and later litigation.
Using force against an officer creates a
fresh crime that stands entirely on its
own, independent of whether the original
arrest was valid. For law enforcement,
this footage models the safe path,
probable cause first, warnings before
force, force kept proportional to the
resistance encountered, and charging
restraint when a lesser offense fits the
facts. 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
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interactions.