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Green v. Director Of Revenue11/9/2004
that Officer Mills never saw Respondent actually driving her vehicle.
It is not necessary for an officer to actually observe a person driving to have probable cause to arrest the person for driving while intoxicated. McCabe v. Dir. of Revenue, State, 7 S.W.3d 12, 14 (Mo.App.1999). An officer has a right to rely upon information communicated via police dispatch, see State v. Singer, 719 S.W.2d 818, 821 (Mo.App.1986), and information reported by citizen witnesses, Tolliver v. Dir. of Revenue, 117 S.W.3d 191, 197 (Mo.App.2003).
Furthermore, that the officer did not witness the vehicle being driven at all does not necessarily negate the presumption that Respondent was operating the vehicle in an intoxicated condition. The Missouri Supreme Court found in Cox v. Dir. of Revenue, 98 S.W.3d 548, 551 (Mo.banc 2003), that the officer who observed driver sitting behind the steering wheel, with the key in the ignition and the engine running, had probable cause to believe that the driver was operating the vehicle.
As noted above, Respondent objected to the testimony regarding the dispatched report, asserting that the dispatched report was hearsay. However, that contention does not aid Respondent in her challenge to the admission of the testimony. Whether such information was hearsay is not relevant here. "[H]earsay evidence is sufficient to establish probable cause because it is not offered for its truth, but to explain the basis for [a] belief that probable cause to arrest existed." McCabe, 7 S.W.3d at 14, quoting State v. Holt, 695 S.W.2d 474, 478 (Mo.App.1985).
For the purposes of § 302.505, probable cause exists "when the surrounding facts and circumstances demonstrate to the senses of a reasonably prudent person that a particular offense has been or is being committed." Brown v. Dir. of Revenue, 85 S.W.3d 1, 4 (Mo.banc 2002), quoting Smyth v. Dir. of Revenue, State, 57 S.W.3d 927, 930 (Mo.App.2001). The trial court must assess the facts " 'by viewing the situation as it would have appeared to a prudent, cautious, and trained police officer.' " Brown, 85 S.W.3d at 4, quoting Cox, 37 S.W.3d at 307.
*4 Officer Mills had been informed through the police dispatcher that the driver of a silver Honda in the vicinity of Huck's gas station was intoxicated. Two minutes later, the officer sighted Respondent sitting behind the steering wheel in a silver Honda with a license plate number identical to that reported to law enforcement, parked one block away from Huck's with its engine running and headlights on. Based upon these facts and circumstances, and viewing the situation as it would have appeared to a prudent, cautious, and trained police officer, we find that Director met its burden of proving a prima facie case.
Accordingly, the judgment is reversed and remanded for the trial court to enter a judgment reinstating Director's revocation of Respondent's driving privileges for a period of time to be determined by Director in accordance with Section 302.525.
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