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City of Fargo v. Ovind3/30/1998
Maring, Justice.
[ ] After entering a conditional guilty plea to driving under the influence , Mark Bjorn Ovind appeals from the district court's order denying his motion to suppress evidence. We conclude the officer was justified in subjecting Ovind to a limited investigative stop for the purpose of "freezing" the situation at the scene of a reported fight. The officer, therefore, had a reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Ovind's car. We affirm the district court's order denying Ovind's motion to suppress.
I.
[ ] In the early morning hours, shortly before 1:45 a.m., on January 17, 1997, Fargo police officers responded to a dispatch reporting a fight at the Taco Bell located at First Avenue and Tenth Street in north Fargo. At the time of the dispatch, the initial responding officer testified he was traveling south on University Drive at approximately Second Avenue and was about three blocks from the location. The officer testified there was little to no traffic in the area, and he arrived at the Taco Bell approximately forty-five seconds to one minute after the dispatch.
[ ] Upon arriving at the Taco Bell, the officer observed only two vehicles in the parking lot. The officer testified he saw one car with a driver and two or three passengers backing out of a parking spot, and another car just exiting the lot onto First Avenue. The officer called for other officers to stop the car exiting the lot and, after activating his patrol car's overhead lights, pulled his vehicle behind the car backing out of the parking spot.
[ ] When the officer exited his patrol car, he observed the driver, later identified as Mark Ovind, and at least two other people in the car. As the officer approached, he heard a male voice and a female voice yelling from the car. The officer testified they were yelling, "Stop that other car, they beat us up." The officer informed the passengers the other car had already been stopped. The officer then proceeded to talk to Ovind. The officer testified that while speaking with Ovind, he detected a strong odor of alcohol and observed other indicia of intoxication. Ovind submitted to field sobriety testing, and officers ultimately arrested Ovind for driving under the influence .
[ ] After a criminal action was filed in the district court, Ovind filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained by the arresting officer and other officers. The district court denied Ovind's motion, and Ovind entered a conditional guilty plea. Ovind appeals from the order denying his motion to suppress, and the only issue on appeal is whether Fargo police officers had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Ovind's car.
II.
[ ] "'We affirm a trial court's decision on a motion to suppress unless, after resolving conflicting evidence in favor of affirmance, we conclude there is insufficient competent evidence to support the decision, or unless we conclude the decision goes against the manifest weight of the evidence.'" State v. Kenner, 1997 ND 1, , 559 N.W.2d 538 (quoting State v. Hawley, 540 N.W.2d 390, 392 (N.D. 1995)). This standard of review accords great deference to the trial court's decision and recognizes the importance of the opportunity to assess the credibility of the witness. Id. Here, the trial court did not make specific findings of fact, but the parties did not argue that the relevant facts were in dispute. The ultimate Conclusion of whether the facts support a reasonable and articulable suspicion is a fully reviewable question of law. Id.
[ ] Although not every police contact with a citizen is a seizure, we will conclude a "seizure" has occurred when an officer has in some way restrai
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