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Dahl v. State ex rel Department of Public Safety12/26/2001
Modified: 01/18/2002
Mandate Issued: 01/18/2002
__ P.3d __
APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF McCLAIN COUNTY, OKLAHOMA HONORABLE NOAH EWING, TRIAL JUDGE
REVERSED
The Department of Public Safety (State) appeals an order of the trial court setting aside the revocation of Danny K. Dahl's driver's license. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in finding that there was no valid arrest. Upon reviewing the record and applicable law, we hold that the trial court did err and reverse its decision.
BACKGROUND
On June 28, 1999, a reporting person made a call to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), reporting that the driver of a truck was harassing the caller. The OHP dispatcher notified Trooper Dennis Dickens, who, in turn, notified the police dispatcher in Purcell, Oklahoma. Officer Rodney Tompkins was on routine patrol in Purcell when his dispatcher informed him of the driver that was harassing other drivers. The vehicle was reported to be northbound on I-35, approaching the city limits of Purcell. Officer Tompkins went to the 91-mile-marker of I-35 and waited, but he did not see the vehicle, described as a red Chevy extended-cab pickup, travel past the 91-mile-marker. He then traveled north on I-35.
Officer Tompkins later testified that, at approximately the 94-mile-marker, he caught up with a red extended-cab pickup and that the "vehicle was left of center, right of center, it was all over the roadway." He then contacted his dispatcher and said he was going out of the city limits at approximately the 94-mile-marker, but that he had observed the vehicle. After he spotted the truck, Officer Tompkins made direct contact with Trooper Dickens of the OHP. Officer Tompkins stated that Trooper Dickens told him over the radio that, "if I have probable cause to stop the vehicle or if it's driving in a manner that I feel it needs to be stopped, go ahead and shut it down and he'd be there as soon as he could." Acting upon Trooper Dickens' direction, Officer Tompkins then stopped the vehicle at approximately the 98-mile-marker and told Dahl he was being stopped "for the Highway Patrol, that they needed to talk to him, he was all over the road, and I went ahead and stopped him and the Highway Patrol would be here in a minute and would talk to him."
Trooper Dickens' testimony closely resembled Officer Tompkins'. Trooper Dickens stated that he was dispatched to investigate a report of a reckless driver. The reporting person informed him that the reckless driver was at the 91-mile-marker. He then contacted the Purcell Police Department and asked if the department had a unit nearby that could intercept the vehicle for him. At that time, Trooper Dickens was too far away "to talk car to car." The Purcell dispatcher then informed Officer Tompkins of the situation. As Trooper Dickens traveled closer to Officer Tompkins, they were able to talk to each other directly over the radio. After being told by Officer Tompkins that he had located the vehicle, Trooper Dickens directed Officer Tompkins "to follow the vehicle and if he found any reasons of reckless driving or possible DUI-involved violations, to go ahead and stop that vehicle until I could get there." Officer Tompkins then informed Trooper Dickens that he had stopped the vehicle between the 96-and 97-mile-marker. Trooper Dickens arrived at the scene five to ten minutes after the stop. When he arrived on the scene, he found Dahl standing behind the truck talking to Officer Tompkins. He requested Dahl's driver's license and then asked him to be seated in the patrol car. Dahl complied.
Trooper Dickens relayed the subsequent events as f
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