State v. Keener8/21/2003
able cause when a misdemeanor has been committed.
The trial court noted that all of the cases cited for the maxim that a court can consider the collective knowledge of all of the officers participating in an investigation in determining whether probable cause supports an arrest involved felonies; none of the cases concerned a misdemeanor traffic offense. Nevertheless, our courts have long recognized that collective knowledge of law enforcement officers may be considered to establish probable cause. See State v. Lawson, 144 Ariz. 547, 553, 698 P.2d 1266, 1272 (1985); State v. Sardo, 112 Ariz. 509, 514, 543 P.2d 1138, 1143 (1975); State v. Smith, 110 Ariz. 221, 224, 517 P.2d 83, 86 (1973); State v. Peterson, 171 Ariz. 333, 335, 830 P.2d 854, 856 (App. 1991).
Nothing in the case law suggests that probable cause has a different meaning when the offense prompting the arrest is a misdemeanor. To make a warrantless arrest, a police officer must have probable cause to believe both that a crime has been committed and that the person to be arrested committed the crime. Probable cause derives from "reasonably trustworthy information and circumstances [that] would lead a person of reasonable caution to believe that a suspect has committed an offense." State v. Hoskins, 199 Ariz. 127, 137-38, 30, 14 P.3d 997, 1007-08 (2000), supp'l opin., 204 Ariz. 572, 65 P.3d 953 (2003). "Information is 'reasonably trustworthy' when it is received through official sources," such as other police departments. State v. Williams, 104 Ariz. 319, 321, 452 P.2d 112, 114 (1969). Further, whether probable cause exists depends on all of the facts and circumstances known at the time of the arrest, and Lawson expressly held that those facts may include the collective knowledge of all of the officers involved in the case. 144 Ariz. at 553, 698 P.2d at 1272.
In Williams, for example, an officer in one state stopped and arrested the defendant after hearing a bulletin that described him, his clothing, and his vehicle. 182 Ariz. at 557, 898 P.2d at 506. In Lawson, one deputy found the victim's body and spoke to a neighbor who said that the victim had owned a hunting knife, a second deputy saw a hunting knife in a car stopped earlier that day, and a third officer later stopped and arrested the defendant. 144 Ariz. at 552-53, 698 P.2d at 1271-72. In Sardo, a reliable informant and a DEA agent disclosed information to a fellow agent, who passed the information to a sheriff's deputy, and a second deputy arrested the defendant. 112 Ariz. at 511-12, 543 P.2d at 40-41. In each case, the facts known to all of the officers were considered in the probable cause calculus. Probable cause is a flexible, non-technical, and practical concept. Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 112 (1975). If the collective knowledge of law enforcement officers may be considered when they arrest an individual for a felony offense, we see no reason not to consider that collective knowledge when the warrantless arrest is for a misdemeanor offense.
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's ruling granting the motion to suppress and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ANDREW W. GOULD, Judge Pro Tempore
CONCURRING:
JAMES B. SULT, Presiding Judge
JOHN C. GEMMILL, Judge
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