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Nease v. State1/28/2005
otivation is irrelevant in the absence of proof that Officer Torok's decision to stop Nease and issue him a citation represented a departure from reasonable police practice, given the circumstances of this case.
In the present case, Judge Froelich concluded that Officer Torok stopped Nease's vehicle primarily because the officer wished to investigate the possibility that Nease was driving while intoxicated. At one point in the judge's remarks, he indicated that this conclusion was based on the finding that Officer Torok had no good reason to believe that Nease's brake light was broken. As we have explained, this finding was clearly erroneous: the record shows that Officer Torok personally observed (and thus had probable cause to believe) that Nease's brake light was not working properly.
Judge Froelich's ruling also appears to have been based on a conclusion about Officer Torok's subjective state of mind: that the traffic stop should be invalidated because Officer Torok's primary subjective motivation for making the stop was to investigate his suspicion that Nease was driving while intoxicated. But as we have explained, even under the "pretext" doctrine, the precise issue is not Officer Torok's subjective motivation for making the stop. Rather, the question is whether Officer Torok departed from reasonable police practice when, having probable cause to stop Nease because of the broken brake light, he in fact stopped Nease.
Nease presented no evidence to suggest that police officers never stop motorists to issue citations for equipment violations, or that they would never do so under the circumstances of this case. Moreover, Nease has never asserted (much less shown) that Officer Torok manipulated the traffic stop in this case by abnormally expanding or extending his contact with Nease so that he could investigate Nease's potential drunk driving .
There is no evidence that Officer Torok's contact with Nease exceeded the normal duration or scope of a traffic stop for an equipment violation. As far as we can tell from this record, it was immediately apparent to Officer Torok, when he contacted Nease during the traffic stop, that Nease might be impaired. And because Officer Torok's initial contact with Nease gave him reasonable suspicion to believe that Nease was driving while under the influence, Officer Torok could properly ask Nease to perform field sobriety tests.
In sum, Officer Torok had probable cause to stop Nease for the equipment violation, and Nease failed to present evidence that no reasonable police officer would have conducted a traffic stop under these circumstances. Any finding to the contrary would be clearly erroneous on this record. Accordingly, even if we adhered to the doctrine of pretext stops and searches, Nease would not be entitled to suppression of the evidence against him.
Conclusion
The superior court's decisions were correct, and Nease's conviction is AFFIRMED.
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