have you been drinking alcohol today how much have you had to drink two beers two beers I came back and then he just kept coming really close to me and trying to touch me and being very close and at one point he literally reached up and tried to touch me and I told him do not touch me again this analysis examines the constitutional and statutory questions raised by a public intoxication arrest under Texas law the encounter begins as an investigative detention under Terry versus Ohio an officer may briefly detain a person when specific articulable facts suggest criminal activity a citizen call describing an impaired disruptive subject paired with an officer's own observations satisfies that reasonable suspicion standard courts assess these stops under the totality of the circumstances considering everything known to the officer at the moment of the decision hey sir hello hello hey come on right here what's going on nothing nothing you speak you speak English yeah you do okay you have your ID yeah where's your stuff that's your stuff alright do what can I see your ID please so do what there are tortillas okay so do you know where you're at right now where are you at where you're in Dallas sorry OK where are you going to today Iowa you're going to Iowa OK do you know what time it is what time one PM it's one PM OK what time is your flight at today 4 your flight at 4 with what airlines American with American OK no United with United OK have you been drinking alcohol today how much have you had to drink two beers two beers OK so if I ask them they'll tell me you only had two beers do you have your receipt you do let me see it they have it but you don't have it okay are you by yourself yeah do you have your boarding pass in my phone in your phone can you show me I just want to see it thank you so how much have you had to drink today two beers two beers what kind of beers you don't know what kind of beers you were drinking two Coronas and what I'm going I'm I'm going to have one okay when have you ate last maybe like 20 minutes ago 20 minutes ago what did you eat nachos from where they have nachos there all I wanna do is blow my flame I didn't I didn't Texas Penal Code Section 49. 02 governs public intoxication the statute is narrower than it sounds it does not criminalize being drunk in public it requires that a person be intoxicated to a degree that may endanger himself or another intoxication is defined in Texas Penal Code Section 49. 01 as the loss of the normal use of mental or physical faculties delayed responses confusion about basic orientation and inconsistent answers are observations Texas courts weigh in applying that definition the endangerment element deserves emphasis a heavily impaired person preparing to board a commercial aircraft presents a recognizable risk to himself and others strengthening the statutory basis for arrest reasonable suspicion and probable cause are distinct standards the first permits only a brief investigative stop the second is required before an arrest probable cause crystallizes when a subject's own admission of intoxication joins the officer's observations and the corroborating report probable cause does not demand certainty it requires facts that would lead a reasonable officer to believe an offense has occurred a frequent misconception is that a minor offense cannot justify a full custodial arrest The Supreme Court rejected that view in Atwater versus city of Lagovista a case that arose in Texas the court held that a warrantless arrest for a fine only misdemeanor does not violate the Fourth Amendment public intoxication is precisely such a Class C offense Texas law also contemplates alternatives to jail for this offense an intoxicated person may be released to a responsible adult and officers retain discretion to select the least restrictive option consistent with public safety Miranda warnings are often misunderstood as well under burkimer versus Mccarty routine questioning during a temporary detention is non custodial and does not trigger Miranda warnings attach only when custodial interrogation begins pre arrest investigatory questions therefore stand on solid legal ground a related concern is the reliability of admissions obtained from an impaired subject such statements remain admissible yet their weight may be challenged which is why corroboration through witnesses and observation strengthens the case well we got called down here because you were intoxicated and you were bothering people that's what we got called down here for yes so do you think you're intoxicated yes you you do OK alright go ahead and put your tortillas over there for me please stand up stand up turn around you're under arrest for public intoxication it's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay I get it's it's your safety what is it we don't need to dump her so we'll give you some place to take the seat off take the seat off and back in the making and what time was your flight it's at five OK just go somewhere quick off real quick I can get you a rebook later tonight and get you where you're going man they're not gonna let you on the airplane when you drink too much cause you gotta you gotta be able to help in an emergency you gotta be able to open up a fire door or get out of the plane in an emergency you can't be drunk and do that right so yeah let's just off the reservation OK do you have anything in your bag I need to know no any marijuana prescription pills nothing nothing no OK OK I ask everyone so I'm not singling you out you have like 3 a separate statute deserves mention Texas Penal Code Section 22. 07 defines a t*rrorist threat it requires a threat to commit a violent offence made with specific intent such as placing a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury proving that intent where impairment and a language barrier cloud the speaker's meaning is demanding charging the offence most clearly supported by the evidence reflects sound prosecutorial discretion following a lawful arrest the Fourth Amendment permits a search of the arrested and the property within his immediate control an inventory of belongings protects both the RSD and the agency use of force is measured along a continuum from officer presence and verbal commands to soft and hard empty hand control this encounter never advanced beyond the lowest tier 3 kilos of cheese that's fine ma'am don't touch cheese every four show in custody the I can get transport every four of them this first plane probably not again you had a little bit too much to drink right now you go over there sleep it off for a couple hours as soon as that's over then you come over rebook and get on the plane tonight okay you just can't have this many drinks before you fly alright three cents Houston Houston and then Iowa well you can figure that out after you take some of this off all right you just can't you can't be drunk this drunk get on the plane OK alright you got this property I get it I get it just cooperating with us we're gonna walk out here I did it you won't lose nothing I promise yes she kept screaming in my face that there's gonna be a m*ssacre so OK that's like that's a t*rrorist threat like OK alright and he also did a couple of women at home oh OK um OK I'll be right back I'll be I'll be right back in I'll be right back in hey Friday huh yeah yeah I gotta go back in there and talk to the bartender hey Gibbons are you the one who was sitting next to you no who was it her OK alright hello ma'am yes you were sitting next to you yes Mister I don't know who he is yeah okay so just tell me what happened um so yeah I came in and he wasn't here I'd seen him walk that way though um and then I thought a couple of people were right here living in a man so I asked my dad if that picture was like no his that was taken because he's here I came back and then he just kept coming really close to me and trying to touch me and being very close and I so moved eventually I moved like I got them to move down and I moved here and I got up on the stand just right here and he like kept leaning and kept trying to like you know cheers my glass OK and then um obviously getting super close to me and at one point he literally reached up and tried to touch me and I told him do not touch me again um and then he sat there tapping his phone and trying to get my attention and I wasn't I was just trying to ignore him um and then he started aiming his attention towards the man next to me and when I got up I was like I'm gonna I kind of I'm gonna get up and walk away um as soon as I I stood up and kind of got started walking away I heard him say um there's gonna be that's what I heard and I OK I'm out of here OK so it was creepy and yeah very uncomfortable OK um he did tell me that he was going hey can I start pissing you wanna start pissing please don't start pissing wait till you get to the jail alright you pissing right now is not gonna help anyone out and if you piss on me I'm gonna be real upset we don't want that do we they wanted to talk to me I'll be right back OK OK OK no mames what no mames alright that's just a receipt he's got nothing on him alright five minutes then you go then you go pee okay ride 5 minutes then you can then you can then you can piss okay wait till you wait till then don't piss on my partner's car left leg in left leg in come on Thomas work with me here you're in Dallas still you're not in Houston yet left leg in this leg in alright put that leg down this leg in there you go probably no I got it I got it America no America no Wanna go through the stuff real quick yeah yeah here you take that before you drive off without it he does have a big old bag of tortillas here and he's probably got three kilos of cheese oh oh alright he was very adamant about telling me about his cheese okay I'm gonna turn on the yeah yeahr the arresting officer earns an a minus the detention rested on reasonable suspicion the arrest on probable cause and the force remained consistent with Graham versus Conner the deduction reflects an Assumption of comprehension despite an apparent language barrier where greater care was warranted the subject earns a C plus he offered no resistance and complied with lawful commands which prevented additional charges the grade is limited by the conduct that drew officers to the scene and by intoxication satisfying the statute's endangerment element the department earns a B+ the response was prompt the approach protective rather than punitive and roles were clearly divided the grade is capped by the limited view a single camera offers into language access policy and training several lessons emerge from this encounter first public intoxication requires endangerment not mere intoxication the statute's true threshold is higher than most assume second a fine only offense can still support a lawful custodial arrest under clearly established precedent third a language barrier demands deliberate steps to confirm understanding comprehension affects both the reliability of admissions and the fairness of the process 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