Dakota, put your hands behind your back. >> You're under arrest for DUI. >> Put your arms behind your back. Dakota. >> That's not >> I need you to put your arms. Yep. >> Okay. We're here. >> I'm going to grab your thing. Just give me one second. >> Dakota, do you have anything on you that could stick me or anything like that? >> Obviously. Obviously. No, but >> I have to ask you, but >> can I just go home? >> You can't go home. Okay. I need you to face forward. I'm going to search you. >> Face forward, Dakota. >> I know, but like >> Okay, let me search you. Face forward and then you can ask me the questions you need to at the end. Okay. I need to search you. Please, >> you have a bra on or >> No, I have nothing on. I have nothing. Literally, you can you can take my ball. I'm have nothing on Christmas, please. It's like it's enough. What did I do wrong? >> You're under arrest for DUI, right? >> That's your decision you made tonight. Okay. >> What do you mean? I never I never No, I never I never I never I never drove I never I never drove under the influence. >> You're behind the wheel. >> I never It's not up for debate. Go ahead and swing your feet in so I can bump you. >> I never drove. >> I never drove under the influence. I never drove. I'm either going to You're going to get in or I am going to push you in. I understand. >> All right. So, put your foot in the car. All right. Put your foot in the car. You can do it the easy way where you put your feet in the vehicle or I'm going to throw you in the vehicle. Okay. >> I know. On December 18th, 2023 in Palm Coast, Florida, a DUI arrest raised a question that most people never think about. Can you be convicted of drunk driving if the car never moved? Unlock the door. Unlock the door. >> That's fine. >> I really appreciate you guys. >> Unlock the door. >> Thank you, ladies. Thank you. I just had to pick it from 1:30 as well. >> Okay, thank you. >> Roll the window down. >> What is she trying to do? >> She can't get the the She can't do it. >> The window. The window. Not the Not the the mirrors. The window. >> No. Next button. back or unpull the door. Unlock it. >> She has bruises on her legs. >> Unlock the door. >> The door. Open the door. >> There we go. >> Hello. >> Hi. >> What's your name? >> Dakota. >> Dakota. >> Is everything okay? >> Everything's fine. >> Okay. We obviously got a call. These young ladies that were walking by was super concerned cuz they saw you passed out behind the wheel. >> Oh, no. I'm good. >> Okay. Are you waiting for someone? >> No. I'm just I'm just like like But I'm fine. I'm >> Okay. But you're on the side of the street. Downtown area is closed. Your eyes are a little bit glossy and you're passed out behind the wheel. You didn't know how to open the door nor roll the window down when we asked you to. >> No, I'm good. I'm good. >> Okay. And you said your name's Dakota. You have your driver's license on you to photo. >> Were you hanging out downtown today? >> Yeah, I I'm just going to my friend's house. >> And where does your friend live? >> She lives like 2 minutes down the road. >> Okay. 2 minutes where? >> She lives in Delray. >> Where in Delray? >> Um I don't have her driver's license. >> You said what? >> I don't have a driver's license. >> Okay. But how would you be able to find your friend's home? Um, >> do you know where you are right now? >> Yeah, of course. >> Turn the vehicle off for me and then if I could see your driver's license, that'd be great. >> Yeah. >> Shoes on. Get out of the car. >> Dakota, I need you to step out the vehicle for me. Okay. >> I need you to step out the vehicle. Put your shoes on and step out. You can leave your wallet in the center console as well as your phone. And I want you to step to the rear of the vehicle. Step to the rear of the vehicle for me, Dakota >> to the rear. No, you can you can face me. I didn't ask you to turn around. All right, Dakota, how many drinks did you have today? >> Three. >> Three. Okay. You were hanging out downtown? >> Yeah. >> Okay. And obviously you fell asleep behind the wheel, correct? >> Okay. >> All right. So, we're switching hats at this point, obviously. Okay. We're going to be conducting a DUI because you're behind the wheel of a vehicle as well as the car is on. Okay. >> The answer sits inside Florida statute section 316 193. And it is not what most people expect. That statute does not only criminalize driving under the influence. It criminalizes being in actual physical control of a vehicle while impaired. Actual physical control or APC is a legal standard that Florida courts have defined through decades of case law. The leading case is Faselman versus state 537 southern second 603 decided by the fourth district court of appeal in 1989. In Faselman, the court held that a person found asleep in the driver's seat of an idling vehicle in a parking lot was in actual physical control even though the vehicle had not moved. The court identified three operative factors. Was the person in the driver's seat? Was the engine running? And were the keys accessible? All three factors were present here. Engine on, driver's seat occupied, keys in the vehicle. Florida courts have reaffirmed this standard in Department of Highway Safety versus Real 586 Southern 2nd 1042 from the same appellet district in 1991. The officer's legal foundation was sound from the first moment of contact. Now, the initial approach, a citizen welfare call, is not a traffic stop. It is a community caretaking contact which courts analyze under a separate fourth amendment framework. The US Supreme Court addressed this in Katy versus Dumbrossski 413US 433 1973 holding that community caretaking functions justify certain warrantless encounters with vehicles. No seizure under the fourth amendment occurred when the officer approached the vehicle. A seizure requires either physical force or a show of authority to which a reasonable person would feel compelled to submit. Per California versus Hodari D499US 621 1991. At that stage, the subject was unresponsive. There was no seizure. The welfare check was constitutionally clean. The encounter shifted into a DUI investigation after the officer observed objective signs of impairment. glossy eyes, physical instability, bruising consistent with a recent fall, and inability to perform basic coordination tasks like unlocking a door or rolling down a window. These observations satisfy the reasonable articulable suspicion standard under Terry versus Ohio 392 US 1 from 1968. Here is where the fifth amendment becomes relevant. The subject voluntarily told the officer she had consumed three alcoholic beverages. No Miranda warning was required at that point. The US Supreme Court established in Burkimer versus McCarti. 468US 420 1984 that roadside questioning during a DUI investigation does not constitute custodial interrogation. Those admissions were fully admissible. You need that with her really quick. >> Where are the keys to the vehicle? >> Are they in your bag? >> Yeah, they should be. >> Okay, stay right there. >> Stay right there. >> Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa. You all right? >> Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine. >> What the? >> You fell. She just fell. >> Did you hit your head? >> No, I'm fine. Okay. You have a bruise on your knees. It's kind of red. Do you need fire department to come out or >> I'm fine. I'm fine. >> Did you call fire rescue? >> No, I'm fine. >> 45 Palm Co Boulevard in unit 2011. See four subjects in the parking lot touching the car doors. All black males. One's in a red hand. >> Yeah, they're here. They're probably going to check you out and look at you for a minute. >> You all right? >> You go city. >> Yeah, of course. Don't worry. >> Where do you live? Um, I live in Florida. >> Okay. >> Um, yeah. >> No, 24. >> 24. >> If you had something to drink, you'd be good not to drive. >> Yeah. Um, >> we're just here to medically check you out. Make sure you know you're not hurt at all. >> Okay. Um, call my friend. Yeah, for sure. Let them just take your blood pressure real quick and just two two things and then >> German unit just I think he saw them when he was out near his vehicle. He went back into his apartment when he came out. He no longer see them. They may possibly in the in the area near one of the condos. Dakota, if you could just step to the rear of the vehicle for me. >> All right. So, based on the circumstances and everything that you already previously told me, the fact that you obviously had three drinks tonight, your eyes are glossy. You clearly fell over and you were found behind the vehicle. >> Yeah, my friend's going to come. Yeah. >> Okay. Well, right now, again, like I told you, we're switching hats. We're conducting an investigation. This is a DUI. You were behind the wheel of a vehicle. A car was turned on and you passed. >> I'm not driving. I'm not driving. >> It doesn't matter. the vehicle is on and you're in the actual driver's seat of the vehicle. >> I never drove behind the >> Again, it does not matter. >> Okay. Are you willing Thank you. Are you willing to perform the roadside task today? >> No. >> Okay. Again, with everything that you already told me, the fact that you were drinking alcohol, the fact that you were uh found behind the actual vehicle, you're not willing to perform the task. Okay. I have to read you something. It's called the ter warning. So, the purpose of the roadside task are to dispel my concern. Subject is DUI. Failing to perform the task will force me to make a decision based on what I've seen so far. Obviously, the fact that you already told me that you had three glasses of whatever and alcoholic beverage, the fact that you clearly fell over. All right. The refusal to participate in any task will be used against the defendant in court. Okay. So, I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you willing to perform the road test like to walk in my body? >> Again, it's based on the dispel of my concern that you're under the influence right now. I just I just want to calm myself. >> Okay. But are you willing to perform the task? >> What task? >> The roadside task to dispel my concern that you're obviously >> you want to do it. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Can I call my friend first? >> No. All right. >> Please. >> No. >> That's my home girl. >> I understand. Do you wear contacts or glasses? >> No contacts? >> No. Do you have any type of issues with your eyes? No. >> Do you have a pen tip with the light? Okay, that's fine. I'll use this one, please. >> No. Can you put your arms to the side for me, please? >> I'm just really cold. I'm really cold. >> I understand. But I need you to go ahead and stand up straight and place again. Are you willing to perform the roadside? >> I'm just really cold. >> Okay. Do you want to zip your jacket up? Will that help? >> Yeah. >> I'm just right here in a straight line. Yeah, we can. We're going to have to walk up here. >> Shut the door. Dakota, if you could just step over for me, please. >> Nope. You're going to face me. Turn around. All right. Put your arms by your side. Your arms by your side. All right. Put your feet together, hands at your side, keep your head still, and look at the and follow the stimulus. So, look at the top of this. Okay. Do you see it? >> Yeah. Keep looking at the stimulus until told the test is over. Do not move your head. Okay. Don't move your head. Don't move your head. You're just looking with your eyes, Dakota. Do not move your head. >> Not your head. Just look with your eyes. Sorry. >> Just your Just your eyes, not your head. 12. >> All right. So, next we're going to be performing the walk and turn. Okay. So, put your left foot on the line. >> All right. Nope. Keep your feet together. Put your left foot on the line. >> Face that way. Go that way. So, she's going to go this way. >> All right. So, you're going to put your left foot on the line. Okay. Keep your arms at your side. Do not start until I tell you to do so. Do you understand? >> Yeah. >> Stay on that line for me. Okay. When I tell you to begin, take nine heel to toe steps on the line. All right, I'm healed. So, >> I'm going to demonstrate first. Okay. One, two, three, four, five, six, and so on. Okay. When you turn in your ninth step, keep your foot keep your front foot on the line. When you turn on the ninth step, keep your front foot on the line and turn, taking several small steps with the other foot. Okay. So again, once you get to your ninth step, you're just going to take small steps, but keep that foot on the line, your left foot. Okay? >> Nope, not yet. I'm going to tell you when to begin. Okay? Keep your arms at your side at all times. Watch your feet and count each step out loud. Okay? >> Once walking begins, do not stop until you have completed the test. Do you understand the instructions? Yes. >> Okay. You may begin your hands at your side, Dakota. Can >> I walk now? >> Yep. What step are you on? Cuz you're supposed to be counting out loud, which you did not. >> I I'm sorry. I didn't know that. >> That's you. Stay right there. Stay right there. Nope. Stay right there. >> What do you mean? >> Stay exactly where you were and turn around now. >> Right. Dakota instruction. At least you understand that's it. >> Okay. Like right or left. >> You're going to now turn around and walk back. >> Right. Right. >> I see all of that. >> All right, Dakota. >> Turn around. >> That's enough. >> That's That's enough. >> All right. >> You're fine. That's enough. So, we're next. You're done with that. Okay. The next one is going to be the one leg stand instructions. Okay. Stand with your feet together and your arms at your side. All right. >> Feet together and your arms at your side. Dakota. Arms at your side. >> All right. Maintain posture until told otherwise. When I tell you to do so, I want you to raise one leg, either leg, your left or your right. Okay. Approximately 6 in off the ground, foot pointed out, and both legs straight. Look at an elevated foot. Okay? So, you're going to count out loud in the following manner. 100 1,002 100 3 and so on until I tell you to stop. So, this is what it should look like. Arms at your side, either leg, it doesn't matter. And you're going to keep your foot elevated. You're going to look at your toe, and you're going to count out loud. 1,00 1,002 1,00 3 until I tell you to stop. >> Okay. >> Do you understand? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Telling them to start. >> I'm going to tell you when to start. Just give me one sec. Go ahead. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> 10. Can I start over? >> You're done. All right. You're You're finished. You're finished. All right. The next one that we're going to be performing is the finger to nose. Please stand with your feet together and arms at your side and your indep index fingers pointed. Okay. So again, stand at your side with your index finger pointed. Do not start the test until I tell you to do so. Do you understand the instructions so far? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> When I tell you to start, close both eyes and tilt your head back. All right. When I tell you when I tell you to bring the hand, I direct up towards the touching the tip of your finger to the tip of your nose. >> After touching your nose, immediate immediately bring your hand down at your sides. Okay. >> Do you understand all the instructions so far? >> Yeah. >> All right. Test will be conducted in the following sequence. Left, right, left, right, left. Okay. >> Okay. >> So, when I tell you to do so, you're going to go ahead and do that. All right. >> You may begin. Left, right, left. >> Right. >> Right. >> Left. Okay, >> you're finished. Dakota. Okay. The last one is >> that's the one >> citation. That one is usually >> we don't remember. >> So next one is do you know the airplane thing? >> No. Like an airplane. >> Okay. Right here. >> All right, Dakota, you're going to put your arms out to the side like an airplane. You're going to bend your hips at the waist. Okay. >> Before administering field sobriety tests, the officer read the Taylor warning. This is a Florida specific procedural requirement that advises the subject that refusal to participate in roadside testing can be used against them in court and can form the basis for an adverse inference. The officer read it accurately and completely that matters. An incomplete or inaccurate tailor warning can compromise the admissibility of the refusal itself. The field sobriety tests administered here are drawn from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's standardized battery. The horizontal gaze nestagmas test carries an estimated accuracy rate of approximately 88% when administered correctly per NHTSA research. walk and turn and one leg stand each carry approximately 65 to 68% accuracy rates. Together they represent the best scientifically validated field tools available at roadside. The officer's conduct during testing was procedurally patient. He demonstrated each test, repeated instructions multiple times, and corrected the subject without hostility. under Graham versus Connor 490 US 386 1989. The totality of circumstances governs the evaluation of officer conduct. Nothing in the testing phase approaches a constitutional concern. The arrest itself, however, presents one procedural issue worth examining. A male officer conducted the pat down search of a female subject without a documented female officer presence or supervisory authorization on camera. This does not constitute a fourth amendment violation. The search incident to arrest doctrine established in Chiml versus California 395US 752 1969 authorized the search. But best practices across most major law enforcement agencies require same-sex searches when a same-sex officer is reasonably available. Whether a female officer was available is not established by the footage. If one was not available, the search was procedurally defensible. If one was available and was not called, that is a policy compliance issue. It does not rise to suppressionworthy conduct, but it is the kind of procedural gap that civil plaintiff's attorneys do not overlook. The case was resolved by plea. The subject received 12 months of probation, 50 hours of community service, a six-month driver's license suspension, DUI school, and a victim impact panel. No incarceration for a firsttime DUI with no accident and no injury. This disposition falls squarely within the standard range under Florida statute section 316 193 subsection 2 sub paragraph A >> put your hands behind your back. >> You're under arrest for DUI. Put your arms behind your back. Dakota >> ever told me. >> That's not I need you to put your arms Yep. That doesn't even >> I'm going to grab your thing. Just give me one second. >> Dakota, do you have anything on you that could stick me or anything like that? >> Obviously. Obviously. No, but >> I have to ask you. But >> can I just go home? >> You can't go home. Okay, >> I need you to face forward. I'm going to search you. >> Face forward, Dakota. >> I know, but like >> Okay, let me search you. Face forward and then you can ask me the questions you need to at the end. Okay, I need to search you. >> Please, you have a bra on or >> No, I have nothing on. I have nothing. Literally, you can you can I have nothing on. She literally just finger please. It's like it's enough. What did I What did I do wrong? >> You're under arrest for DUI, right? >> That's your decision you made tonight. Okay. >> What do you mean? I never I never No, I never I never I never I never drove a vehicle. I never drove under the influence. >> You're behind the wheel. I never drove. >> It's not up for debate. Go ahead and swing your feet in so I can bump you. >> You never drove. >> I never drove under the influence. I never drove in. I'm either going to you're going to get in or I either I'm going to push you in. >> I understand you're going to get another charge. >> All right. So, put your foot in the car. All right. Put your foot in the car. We can do it the easy way where you put your feet in the vehicle or I'm going to throw you in the vehicle. Okay. >> I know. But can she understand? But can you just tell me what I'm going for? >> I just told you what you're going for. Dakota. >> What do you mean under the influence? What did I do? Under the influence? Like what did I do? >> Dakota, you're behind the wheel of a vehicle. The vehicle is on. You're under the influence of alcohol right now. in of alcohol. Like, what do you mean? >> Your speech is slurred. It's clear exactly what is going on right now. Okay. >> What do you mean? >> I already alcohol. >> Correct. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. >> Yeah, that's a DUI. Like, why are you putting me in cuffs right now? >> A DUI is you're going to jail. >> No, I'm not. >> Okay. >> What do you mean? >> Now, for the grades. The officer receives a B+. His legal knowledge was accurate. His deescalation was consistent. His FST administration was thorough and he appropriately escalated from welfare check to criminal investigation only after observable probable cause developed. The deduction comes from the language used during the arrest, specifically the threat to physically force the subject into the patrol vehicle and the cross-gender search procedure. The subject Dakota receives a C plus. She cooperated with the investigation, submitted to field testing after initial hesitation, and did not become physically combative after the initial resistance to handcuffing. However, she voluntarily disclosed her alcohol consumption without any legal obligation to do so, and her decision to occupy the driver's seat of a running vehicle while impaired created the legal jeopardy that followed. The agency receives a B minus. The officer was trained, deployed appropriately, and the case was prosecuted to a lawful resolution. The deduction reflects the absence of a documented cross-gender search protocol on camera and the lack of a second officer on scene during a solo DUI arrest, which creates accountability gaps that good policy is designed to prevent. Every interaction in this footage carries a lesson, and there are five worth carrying with you. Here they are clearly and directly. Lesson one. In Florida, you do not have to drive to get a DUI. Florida statute section 3161 193 covers actual physical control. If you are in the driver's seat with the engine running, you are legally exposed regardless of whether the vehicle moved an inch. Lesson two, your words at the roadside are evidence. Burkimer versus McCarti means officers do not need to read you, Miranda, before asking questions during a DUI investigation. What you say voluntarily can and will be used. You have the right to remain silent. Use it thoughtfully. Lesson three, refusing field sobriety tests in Florida has a direct legal consequence under the Taylor Warning Framework and Florida's implied consent law. Section 3161 932. Refusal is not neutral. It can be introduced in court as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Understand what you are choosing before you refuse. Lesson four. If you are arrested, know the scope of the search. A search incident to arrest is constitutionally authorized under Kimmel versus California, but it has limits, including scope and the gender of the searching officer relative to departmental policy. If you believe a search exceeded its lawful scope, document everything and raise it with an attorney afterward, not on camera. Lesson five, for law enforcement, procedural compliance is not optional. The cross-gender search concern in this footage was not a constitutional violation, but it is exactly the kind of policy gap that erodess public trust and creates civil liability exposure. Every shortcut in procedure is a risk that outlasts the moment it was taken. If this breakdown gave you a clearer picture of how DUI law actually operates in the field, subscribe to our channel so you never miss an analysis. Drop your questions in the comments and let us know what interaction you want us to cover