Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 38
triggered, including the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, etc.
Remember: Don’t waive your rights without talking to your lawyer!
EXAMPLE:
Police are called to the scene of a convenience store robbery.
While the police are talking to the clerk, the clerk says, “There
he is!” and points to Sam walking down the street. The police
lawfully detain him, pat him down, and find a pistol and a wad of
cash in his jacket. Sam can now be lawfully arrested based on
probable cause.
E. “Community caretaking”
This encounter doesn’t fit nicely into the categories of police
interactions. An officer may approach a citizen if he “reasonably
believes” the citizen is in need of assistance. It was expressly
allowed in Texas by the Court of Criminal Appeals in the case
of Wright v. State, 7 S.W.3d 148 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999), which
relied on the U.S. Supreme Court case of Cady v. Dombrowski,
413 U.S. 433 (1973). Courts will determine whether the officer was
reasonable by looking at the level and nature of distress exhibited,
the location of the individual, the ability to receive assistance from
others, and the extent to which the individual posed a danger to
himself or others. A community caretaking encounter does not
provide the right to search absent independent reasonable suspicion
or probable cause, and generally only applies to public property.
However, the incriminating information an officer gets from this
encounter can give him reasonable suspicion for an investigation
or probable cause for an additional detention or arrest. In a recent
development, the United States Supreme Court’s decision in
Caniglia v. Strom, 593 U.S. ___ (2021), refused to extend Cady’s
“community caretaking” exception to the warrant requirement to
Know Your Rights: Part I | 27
