Public Intoxication Charge in Ohio - Can I beat it?

[drexel ohio]

But before you give any, please view this video of my "arrest". I believe that it clearly shows that I was not drunk. Additionally, the police did not ask me if I had been drinking, nor did they ask to or administer any kind of field sobriety test.

http://derailedhairsalons.com/video/sparkypi.WMV

Here's the deal.

I was at a party on Labor Day weekend. There was a huge hot tub. I was telling my friends about how I wanted to jump in the hot tub naked. Right after they left, I did.

Next thing I know, some dude was playing footsie with my penis. I told him I wasn't down with that, and the next thing I know, I was asked to leave the party.

Well, I did immediately. I don't want to be anywhere I'm not wanted, and it wasn't my place anyways. So I left.

Turns out, I was the only dude there who wasn't gay. I guess that's why they asked me to leave.

Well, on the way out 3 or 4 of these guys started acting agressive with me, yelling at me to leave while I was unlocking my bicycle from the tree in front of this dude's house. I went to the sidewalk, and the same guy who was screaming at me to hurry up, started in again.

Which REALLY pissed me off.

I told him I had that under the constitution of the United States, I had the complete right to be on the sidewalk at that time or any time as long as I was not harrassing anyone or disturbing the peace. He said they were going to call the cops on me, and I told them to go right ahead, and that I was going to call the cops too. And I did, telling them that a group was trying to intimidate me and that I had the full right to be on the sidewalk at that time, or any time for that matter as long as I was not harrassing anyone, or disturbing the peace, neither of which I was doing.

So, the dispatcher from the 5-0 told me to just go home. But being a hard headed mo' fo' who gave 8 years to Uncle Sam in either the active Army or National Guard, NOBODY is going to tell me I cannot stand in a public place when I am not creating a disturbance or harrassing someone, without killing me first.

So, about an hour or so later the police arrive, and immediately begin writing me a ticket for public intoxication before they even approach me. The rest is in the video.

I went to trial today, but it was continued to another day because the cop couldn't be there. I watched a couple of people try to fight things they say they didn't do, but in both cases (one a stereo too loud ticket, and the other a public intoxication ticket), each defendent was found guilty by the judge, based solely on the testimony of the officer. In both cases, it was merely a case of he said/she said and in both cases, they ruled on the side of the law, based solely on the testimony.

So, what kind of stuff do you think I should be asking the cop in cross-testimony?

Should I go public before the trial with this video, and any kind of publicity?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[lenny71]

I don't have time to watch the whole video now, but it seems the police were very professional toward you. They could have cited you for no headlight on the bicycle or worse waited for you to get on the bike and given you an OVI. It is one thing to be hard headed, but seriously, the circumstances make me think your judgement was impaired.

I would probably not show the video as it does not help your case. It only shows the officers being very appropriate in their treatment of you. The fact that the judge held over the trial due to the officer not showing bodes poorly for you. The policeman is an officer of the court and his experience is held to a higher degree then yours.


I have to wonder, what was your underwear doing under your bike?

 

[lenny71]

Just watched the entire video, thought maybe something to help your case might have happend at the end. Nope.

At the end you video tape yourself asking the officer the same question that you filmed yourself asking him 10 minutes earlier. He understandably tells you he is "done here".

This is a question of the word of a stone sober, experienced officer against the word of a man who admits to jumping naked into a hot tub full of strangers, smells of alcohol, waits an hour on the sidewalk in a place he clearly feels unwelcome with a crowd he feels is hostile, sways, acts confused to find his underwear under his bike tire, calls the police and ignores their advice, asks the same questions though they have been answered on videotape...etc, etc.

If you were the judge, what would you do?

 

[itsmewhoelse]

I agree.
And here is the law on public intoxication:
a person commits the offense of public intoxication who appears in a public place under the influence of a controlled substance or any other intoxicating substance to the degree that:

• The offender may be endangered;
• There is endangerment to other persons or property; or
• The offender unreasonably annoys people in the vicinity.

ALL above applied to you.

 

[itsmewhoelse]

LOl i just watched the video. mayne I would had gave you a ticket too

 

[drexel ohio]

You guys are harsh.

I thought I was quite professional towards to officers, who I admit were quite professional towards me as well. No problem there.

I just wasn't drunk. That's the problem. Pissed off, yes. Nervous, yes. Tired, yes.

Here's where my beef is:

1. They didn't even ask me if I had been drinking. Nor was any kind of field sobriety test administered. Although I do realize that they don't have to. They can just say anyone is drunk, and it's your word against theirs.

2. The shorts had just been dropped. I had swim trunks on, and didn't need them then. No big deal. It was dark, I was nervous, and pissed off. I had swimming trunks on. That was just accidental, not due to me being drunk.

3. The officer said he smelled alcohol on my breath....30 feet away? Notice he was writing the ticket out before he ever approached me?

4. The officer said my eyes were bloodshot, but if you'll notice, my head is backlit, and he didn't have his lights on, nor did he use his flashlight to get a look at my eyes.

5. Clearly from the video, my hand was steady. That is not the hand of a drunk holding the camera.

Yeah, I'm really stubborn when someone tells me that I cannot do something that is within' my constitutional right to do. I served eight years in the U.S. Army, and I'm a hard-head about that kind of stuff.

Am I on track about any of this stuff?

Thanks for all of your advice nonetheless. I do appreciate it.

 

[drexel ohio]

Let me state a contrarian view of the summation of public intoxication

1. I, the alleged offender, was certainly not endangered in any way. I was only re-iterating my right to be on the sidewalk at that time.

2. There was no endangerment to anyone. If you could please state how I was endangering anyone, please do tell.

3. As you can tell, the street is quiet, and so was I. I was not unreasonably annoying anyone in the vicinity.

I agree.
And here is the law on public intoxication:
a person commits the offense of public intoxication who appears in a public place under the influence of a controlled substance or any other intoxicating substance to the degree that:

• The offender may be endangered;
• There is endangerment to other persons or property; or
• The offender unreasonably annoys people in the vicinity.

ALL above applied to you.

 

[Peligroso27]

I hate when OP's argue like this. If you know so much why did you come here for advice?

First question that comes to mind. If you are not gay why did you get into a hot tub, naked with a bunch of guys?

There was no endangerment to anyone. If you could please state how I was endangering anyone, please do tell.

You were a danger to yourself. Your ability to function was severely impaired by alcohol. If the police had caught you riding your bicycle they could have given you a BUI.

1. They didn't even ask me if I had been drinking. Nor was any kind of field sobriety test administered. Although I do realize that they don't have to. They can just say anyone is drunk, and it's your word against theirs.

They stated they could smell the alcohol on you. You may have been too drunk to remember that.

2. The shorts had just been dropped. I had swim trunks on, and didn't need them then. No big deal. It was dark, I was nervous, and pissed off. I had swimming trunks on. That was just accidental, not due to me being drunk.

Sure, stick with that story. I don't believe it and neither will the court. An accurate description would have included drunk.

3. The officer said he smelled alcohol on my breath....30 feet away? Notice he was writing the ticket out before he ever approached me?

That sure didn't look like thirty feet, you seemed drunk enough that the officer would have been able to smell you from a block away . You were lucky to have not spent the night in the drunk tank.

4. The officer said my eyes were bloodshot, but if you'll notice, my head is backlit, and he didn't have his lights on, nor did he use his flashlight to get a look at my eyes.

Again, nice try but complete BS. You were bombed.

5. Clearly from the video, my hand was steady. That is not the hand of a drunk holding the camera.

I have to wonder if you have even watched the video. You were obviously intoxicated, fighting this can cause a harsher sentence then a simple fine you would have received in the first place.

What constitutional right are speaking of? The right to be drunk in public? I appreciate your service, I am a veteran myself but that does not give you the right to do whatever you want. You knew that your presence was unwelcome but you continued to stay there., thus disturbing the peace. I thought you were going to consult your lawyer about the ticket. Why are you now representing yourself?

 

[BigMistakeFl]

Intox

Public intox' is sometime something they cuff you with when they don't have anything else and really need to take you in and end the situation. Best bet is to go to the arraignment and plea out and put this behind you.

 

[justalayman]

I could not find a statute titled public intox. If you have a number, toss it up here.
What I did find is this:

2917.11 Disorderly conduct.

(B) No person, while voluntarily intoxicated, shall do either of the following:

(1) In a public place or in the presence of two or more persons, engage in conduct likely to be offensive or to cause inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to persons of ordinary sensibilities, which conduct the offender, if the offender were not intoxicated, should know is likely to have that effect on others;

(2) Engage in conduct or create a condition that presents a risk of physical harm to the offender or another, or to the property of another.

(D) If a person appears to an ordinary observer to be intoxicated, it is probable cause to believe that person is voluntarily intoxicated for purposes of division (B) of this section.

It does appear you are guilty of B(1) and based upon "D". it appears the officers tesitmony would be enough to convict.

If you have a different statute that you are charged with, post it. If it is this statute, you are going to be hard pressed fighting this successfully.

 

[itsmewhoelse]

You guys are harsh.

I thought I was quite professional towards to officers, who I admit were quite professional towards me as well. No problem there.
.

WHAT! Quite professional?

Since when does filming the cops do there job is professional?

You were annoying the cops as well as the party people. You asked same questions officer and over and talked a little bit to much. You need to rethink this.

Professioanl does not mean filming the cops because you fear the may not do there job

 

[itsmewhoelse]

Let me state a contrarian view of the summation of public intoxication

1. I, the alleged offender, was certainly not endangered in any way. I was only re-iterating my right to be on the sidewalk at that time.

2. There was no endangerment to anyone. If you could please state how I was endangering anyone, please do tell.

3. As you can tell, the street is quiet, and so was I. I was not unreasonably annoying anyone in the vicinity.

You were endangering yourself and others. Clearly the crowd did not want you there. You could have started a fight which would had endangering yourself and others.

Yes you can be on a public sidewalk BUT not if your under the influence and annoying others and placing yourself in harm which you did

 

[justalayman]

there was nothing in the video or posted to show the OP was a danger to anybody.

Now, we all do not believe OP is the angel he has portrayed himself to be but there is nothing indicating he was a danger to anybody.

 

[Peligroso27]

there was nothing in the video or posted to show the OP was a danger to anybody.

Now, we all do not believe OP is the angel he has portrayed himself to be but there is nothing indicating he was a danger to anybody.

He was highly intoxicated in a public area. This presents a danger to himself.

 

[justalayman]

Now you are going to claim you can breathalyze via the internet?

If he was intoxicated, it was not proven nor was any level of intoxication established. He did not display any aggressive actions. (obnoxious; yes. aggressive; no). He displayed nor related nothing that would show he was a danger to anybody.

Being intoxicated itself does not cause one to be dangerous to themselves or anybody else by itself. There is no other information available to allow anybody here to make that call.