San Diego DUI lawyer news

As to some drunk citizens, it appears San Diego / DUI officers in San Diego County have leeway with San Diego's Public Intoxication &/or DUI laws.

More than a week after La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid's embarrassing encounter with local police, questions persist on whether he got special San Diego drunk treatment.

After finding the five-term mayor lying on a public sidewalk a block from his house, La Mesa police gave him and his apparently equally lubricated companion a ride home.

Would anyone else get the same treatment?

San Diego DUI law enforcement officials across the county yesterday said the Feb. 20 incident may sound unusual, but noted that San Diego / DUI officers have broad leeway in what to do.

“We allow our deputies discretion. That's what they get paid for, is to make decisions,” said Lt. Phil Brust, a spokesman with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

San Diego DUI police authorities said sheriff's deputies frequently release people who are drunk in public rather than drive them to a detox center in downtown San Diego or book them into San Diego DUI jail.

“It depends on the level of intoxication, where the person is, if it's possible to call someone to pick them up, if it's possible to put them in a cab,” Brust said. “To book someone into jail for drunk in public takes a lot of time and takes the officer off the street for hours sometimes.

“If a deputy can find someone who hasn't been drinking or a responsible adult to release them to, they often will . . . Each situation has to be handled on its own merit.”

Public intoxication is a misdemeanor offense under California law.

It is defined in the penal code as when a person “is found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance . . . (and) in a condition that he or she is unable to exercise care for his or her own safety or the safety of others . . . ”

David Ramirez, an assistant chief with the San Diego Police Department, said that while many of those intoxicated are hauled to detox or jail, it would not be out of the ordinary for an officer to give someone who lives nearby a ride home.

El Cajon police Lt. Mark Coit called it highly unusual for his agency.

“If the drunk person decided to get into a car and then killed somebody, people would come after the department. So, it would be extremely rare,” Coit said. “An officer would most likely call his supervisor to get advice about what to do.”

La Mesa Police Chief Alan Lanning has defended his department's handling of the matter.

Madrid, 73, resisted calls for his resignation yesterday and said he planned on running for re-election in 2010.

“I enjoy what I'm doing, my health is outstanding, we've made some major contributions to the community,” he said.

Police found Madrid and city finance department employee Trisha Turner, 35, in the mayor's Eastridge neighborhood about 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 20. Vomit was spotted near where the mayor lay on the sidewalk.

Channel 10 News has reported that Madrid admitted to drinking with friends at a bar before the incident, in grief over the 19-year anniversary of his son's death from cancer.

Police found Turner in the driver's seat of Madrid's Ford Explorer with her feet pointed out the open door. San Diego DUI attorney authorities say the vehicle was legally parked, with the engine running.

Oceanside police Lt. Fred Armijo said that while officers can use some discretion, there is case law that supports that a DUI charge can be applicable if someone is sitting in a parked car and is in control of the vehicle.

Being in control of the vehicle would include sitting in the front seat with the keys in the ignition.

Local San Diego DUI defense lawyers, none of whom have any direct connection to the incident, were split over how well the police handled the matter.

Because Madrid was not behind the wheel of his car, some San Diego DUI attorneys said, it appears the San Diego DUI officers made a reasonable decision.

His position as the city's mayor may not necessarily have been a factor.

“Let's assume he's John Q. Public. Nothing would have happened to him anyway,” said one San Diego DUI lawyer who has handled numerous San Diego DUI cases. “Nothing happens to the passenger.”

However, that special treatment may have come into play with Turner.

There's many cases in which authorities arrested a person for San Diego DUI in similar condition. But because the police apparently didn't conduct San Diego DUI field sobriety tests on Turner or take her in for a San Diego DUI blood draw, it would be difficult to prove in court that she was intoxicated.

San Diego DUI defense lawyers suggest any claim that the officers didn't know they were dealing with the city's mayor is ludicrous and that he and the city employee did receive preferential treatment.

They could have thought or stated: Come on boss, we will take you home, some San Diego DUI attorneys believe. Unfortunately, they got caught by the media.