Troy

Judge says police arrest of drunken driver was valid

By Terry Oparka
C & G Staff Writer

Cell phone report of erratic driver not

collaborated
by police before stop, says defense

TROY — A judge said that Troy police had reasonable suspicion to stop a drunken driving suspect based on the report of a cell phone caller.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Colleen O’Brien reinstated a drunken driving charge against a motorist and remanded the case back to the 52/4 District Court. Judge William Bolle had dismissed the case Feb. 24, after a police officer testified that she witnessed no erratic driving before the stop.

According to court documents, a motorist traveling on Rochester, near Wattles, just after 1:30 a.m. Nov. 11 called police and gave them his name, cell phone number, and the color, model and license plate number of a vehicle he said was driving erratically in front of him. The caller continued to follow the car, and Troy police spotted the suspect car at Square Lake and Rochester and followed it for about a half-mile, according to court documents. When the vehicle turned in to a residential subdivision, police stopped the vehicle in front of the suspect’s home and administered sobriety tests.

The suspect blew a 0.10 on a Breathalyzer test — above the legal limit of 0.08 — and police arrested him for drunken driving.

“This is a Fourth Amendment issue,” said defense attorney Kirsten Hartig. She noted that police dispatchers did not verify the identity of the cell phone caller at the time the report of erratic driving was made.

“The dispatcher had LEIN (Law Enforcement Information Network) at their fingertips and did not utilize it to determine if such an individual even exists in Michigan,” she said. “They took the voice’s word for it. No address or date of birth was asked for.”

She said that the caller commented five different times to police dispatch during a one-mile ride about the motorist’s alleged erratic behavior, but when Troy police followed the driver, the officer did not see any civil infraction.

“She (the officer) sees perfect driving,” Hartig said. “My client successfully negotiated Rochester Road, at a speed of 45 to 50 mph, uses his turn signals and executes two turns. It defies common sense that he was all over the road at 18 Mile and Rochester and less than 60 seconds later a perfect driver. Human beings don’t sober up in 60 seconds.”

Hartig said that weaving was not criminal behavior and that her client could have dropped his cell phone or been distracted.

“What is being ignored is what happened after the stop,” said Troy Assistant City Attorney Christopher Forsyth. He said that the suspect failed field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer test. He said that Michigan law allows police to make stops to confirm information provided by another person.

O’Brien agreed.

“There was reasonable suspicion to support the stop,” O’Brien said. She reinstated the drunken driving charge to the 52-4 District Court.

Hartig said she wasn’t sure if her client would pursue a jury trial or appeal O’Brien’s ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals.

“Justice was done,” said Troy City Attorney Lori Grigg Bluhm. She said that in the event that the suspect pursued a jury trial, the city would handle the case as a regular criminal proceeding and call the cell phone caller as a witness.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Terry Oparka at toparka@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1054.