Woman Cited For DWI In Own Garage

May 19, 2011 11:03 AM

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CHASKA, Minn. (WCCO) – Police cited a woman for driving while intoxicated in her own garage in Chaska.

Officers were called to the area of Victoria Drive and Bavaria Road on report of an intoxicated woman asleep behind the wheel.

The driver was found in her own garage, asleep in the driver’s seat. The garage door was open.

Though the car was not turned on when officers arrived, the keys were still in the woman’s possession, indicating physical control of the vehicle, which is still a violation of DWI statutes.

Officers woke the woman up and noted she had clear signs of intoxication. She refused to take field sobriety tests or submit to a breath test.

The woman, whose identity was not immediately available, was arrested on fourth-degree DWI and third-degree refusal to submit to DWI testing.

bearmax

lets see if i hold on to a gun would that make it attempted murder lets keep it some what real !!! we still do have some freedom left
Al

I would fight them both due to the fact that the car was NOT running and she was on her own property so it’s none of the polices business how drunk you get in your own property.

Twins FAN

It is all of our business how drunk you are in a car. Lets focus on getting her help. Once you take your drinking “problem” to the drivers seat, we all must get involved. Unfortunately an expensive wake up call for treatment. Thankfully not at the expense of a death or injury to her or anyone else.
I believe not her time with a bottle of hootch!

me me me

I’d rather deal with a drunk than some idiot shaving or putting make-up on or cell phone use or texting,etc. Big brother needs to sit down and shut up.

Darren

I totally agree, what is the difference in percentage of accidents with drunk drivers compared to inattentive drivers, both can kill but there are alot more inattentive drivers out there then there are drunk drivers.

Maybe I can start a group and name it P.A.I.D. (Peapole against inattentive Drivers)

cat

Wow….REALLY? What if she happened to be listening to a favorite song cuz whatever reason happened to be in her car…she wasn’t driving. ..she fell asleep. I’m sure when she woke up she thought of a million ways to avoid what happened. Just thank God she had the sense or presence of mind not to drive! What about her rights? ? I thought you were innocent until PROVEN GUILTY in this country?!? She was NOT DRIVING! You without sin…I dare you to throw the first stone…you know how you will be judged. ..noone is without sin except Jesus. Quit being quick to judge and listen for once…there’s more than one side of any situation!

Darren

MAYBE she had a domestic dispute with her husband or kids and decided to spend the night in the car. Alot of maybe’s on this one.
Eric

I bet Jesus turned a bunch of water into wine and crashed his donkey into the Temple.

Steve

The cops are in a no-win situation here. If they arrest her, people complain that she was in her own garage and the car wasn’t running. If they don’t arrest her and she kills someone an hour later, the cops are going to be sued for failing to act.

bob

What a bunch of chicken stuff police. Unless she was reported as having driven into the garage she should have been awakened and told to go inside. She was on her own property and at best a potential DWI if she attempted to leave.

More government overstepping the public’s mandate.

eastside_evil

Good point, Bob. Why didn’t they tell her to go inside before doing anything ill-advised?

What would the harm been in that?

RealEastSide Sucker

How about i actually agree with something you said…..wow.

Total BS. How about the police actually arrest someone who was driving drunk ON THE ROADS!!!!
MARK

I hope this lady sues the heck out of the police department and wins. Disgusting.

Mike

Sue the police department so the taxpayers have to pay for it??? Makes sense. (Note: Sarcasm.)

Sally

no kidding next they will be coming into our bedrooms to be sure we do everything legal in there! I’m sure there is some crime really being done some where but the cops are in our homes!

Bobby

Sally- if the cops get a call that tips them off to something illegal you are doing in your bedroom…then yes, I am in favor of them going in to arrest you!

factdealer

So if i smoke pot in my bedroom you want the cops to kick my door down and arrest me, please stop breathing bobby, no1 wants you to anymore ecspecialy your family

Bobby

First of all factdealer- don’t be an a-hole….wishing death upon someone, really?

secondly- maybe I should have been more clear- if the call to police said that someone’s life was in danger- attempted murder, or someone had a heart attack etc…then yes…cops can come in…especially if you are in view of the police when they knock on your door.

Victim Du Jour

5th Amendment says you can refuse a breath test. And the 4th Amendment says the Police must obtain a Search Warrant if they want your DNA, poop, pee or blood.

Swamp Rat

@VDuJour
In a perfect world you are correct but in reality states and local laws go one step further with DWI statutes. Under certain mandated and courts upheld laws you can be charged with sobriety and lab test refusals. This is because you are impaired, until the tests can show otherwise, and, you pose a life-threatening risk to yourself and to others.

There has got to be more to this story than was reported. Let’s get the facts first before you all start pillorying law enforcement for doing their jobs.

Andy

This woman if she hires any competant attorney which I hope she does will have these charges dismissed. This is a very cut and dry violation of the 4th ammendment. Any law enforcement or agent of the goverment may not enter your or dwelling without probable caue or a search warrant and guess what folks, a call to police that a woman is asleep in her car in HER garage is NOT Probable cause to enter her home and yes the garage counts. Now the police will say her garage door was open and thats why they entered. well gues what? That definitely is not probable cause either. What if the door was closed would they have kicked in her front door? Of course not. The police if they really wanted to enter her property should have got a warrant signed by a judge, this is just a clear case of them being lazy. It seems when it comes to DWI offenses lately that the constitution gets thrown out the window. I pray she gets an attorney so these ridiculous charges will get dismissed.

Swamp Rat

“There has got to be more to this story than was reported. Let’s get the facts first before you all start pillorying law enforcement for doing their jobs.”
—from my previous comments.

Nikole

Any person who drives, operates, or is in physical control of a motor vehicle within this state or on any boundary water of this state consents, subject to the provisions of sections 169A.50 to 169A.53 (implied consent
law), and section 169A.20 (driving while impaired), to a chemical test of that person’s blood, breath, or urine for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol, a controlled substance or its metabolite, or a hazardous substance. The test must be administered at the direction of a peace officer.
(b) The test may be required of a person when an officer has probable cause to believe the person was driving, operating, or in physical control of a motor vehicle in violation of section 169A.20

That 5th Amendment is overridden here in MN….Sure you can refuse! But there will be consequences worse than a 4th degree DWI if you do. No Search Warrant needed…just PC.

Factpointer

Mutt Nikole who i absolutly loathe for your 5month abortion views, The law is if ur witinin 100 feet of your vechicle and have possesion of your keys you can be charged with dwi, so if im pounding drinks in my house they can arrest me for having my keys on me, and my car in the garage this will be dismissed. Nikole thinks she can have an abortion at 9months still, but doesnt want u to drink and drive lol what joke she is
Victim Du Jour

Minnesota Statutes don’t supersede Constitutional Amendments, you obviously don’t understand why the entire State voted on a Constitutional amendment saying the State is not allowed to charge people a criminal offense for using the 5th amendment.

Constitutional Amendments are the Boss of Minnesota and the Government.
dmedic69

thye had no PC she was in her own garage on private property. She’s protected by the 4th amendmant

HJ

Regardless of the fact that she was in her own garage, she was intoxicated behind the wheel of a vehicle with the key in her hand. That would be illegal.

Who knows whether she just got home by driving on the roads drunk or was planning to drive soon. Either way, she wasn’t able to harm someone, so props to the police!

Earthman 2020

No, no, no. You cannot say “regardless of the fact she was in her own garage.” The fact is she WAS in her own garage, end of story, goodbye police, get the hell out of my garage. We can all agree nobody likes drunk drivers because they kill. If this citation had been at a public parking lot, then she’s guilty, no question. But in this case, no way, there was no crime here. And if it is deemed a crime then it opens up a whole new world of policing. Government works best when they stay out of our wallets… and out of our bedrooms. This is getting way too close for comfort. Back off.

js

What a joke. The Police are way out of line in this case. Get the drunks off the road, but giving out a DWI on the chance that you might drive is a stretch at best. How about checking my medicine cabinet and locking me up because I might sell my Vicodin that I use for back pain. Big Brother is watching you more than you know, and he knows what’s best for us all.
Cindy

Sounds like a domestic dispute, bet her husband called her in!

W

@Cindy
- that’s pretty much a guarantee!! Someone had to call the police on her for them to show up in her garage…..

jackee

I actually think this is a good thing.. It’s clear her motive was to drive.. She just fell asleep in the car before she could do it. Now if she was to not fall asleep who knows what could have happened.. someone could be laying you to rest or you could be laying someone you loved to rest.. It’s time to teach these people a lesson: Don’t get behind the wheel if you have been drinking! I sure as heck do not want to be laying my kids to rest! good job on the polices part and the person who called the police!

notadrunkdrivingfaneither,but…

How do you know her intent was to drive? You don’t know that for sure. What if her intent was to get a CD out that she forgot (needed keys to unlock the car), and then she passed out there. What if her intent was to commit suicide by exhaust? Nothing is “clear” when it comes to guessing future intent.

kk

ok so you guys are all defending her I see… we never know what would have happened right? but say what if… the police did a good thing and if they didn’t get her well i sure as heck hope that she didnt hit anyone who wasn’t defending her… and hit the ones that did… just saying..

eastside_evil

Maybe you could be arrested for what you might do next week.

Afterall, we never know what could happen.
dmedic69

what ifs have no place in law enforcment. The is cut and dry there is no speculation on there part. That’s as if to say I have a knife in my pocket I’m going to kill someone next week with Speculation is for those that work on Wall Street not Law enforcement

Earthman 2020

Exactly, there is no way of knowing her intent, especially with the key not even in the ignition, how can one assume she was intending to go anywhere? Police overstepped their boundary. We all hate drunk drivers but we all love our freedom too and the police do not belong in our garages when we are sleeping (or passed out in this case).

eastside_evil

“It’s clear her motive was to drive”

Describe how “it’s clear.”
Andy

Jackee do you know what the fourth Ammendment is? I Suggest you read it. The police cannot enter your property without a search warrant or probable cause. And phone calls and an open garage door i is not probable cause. Trust me it is a good thing you live in a country that there are laws that protect your pricacy and your property. Cases like this are scary, it makes me think whats next they come in whenever they want? You say “who knows what could have happend”. Again you live in country where you are punished for what you did, not what you could have done thiis isn’t Iran. Jackee I have been US Marine for 15 years and it saddens me when I here things like what you said in your post. When we re-enlist we take an oath and in a part of that oath you say “I well support and defend the constitution of the United Staes of America.” and when I hear police violating peoples constitutional rights and the public defending them for it makes me very sad. I hope you read the 4th Ammndment Andy

jackee

I honestly could careless about any ammendment when it comes to drinking and going behind the wheel.. lets say if she was in the passenger seat then ok I could understand where a cop had went wrong.. But, she was in the drivers seat.. maybe she shouldn’t have had her garage door open to where people could see it.. Maybe she had a past of drinking and driving and that could have been the motive for the police to arrest her and charge her.. who knows. I do not support anyone at all getting in the drivers seat drunk. Lets say the police didn’t enter the garage when they showed up.. the person could have been dead inside the car or could have been poisoned if the car was running and window were up.. or what if she drank to much to where she could have had alcohol poisoning.. In situations like this I feel it is ok for a cop to enter not only for her own safety but for the safety of others. If this person was dead in the car and the police had not went in im sure the family would be suing the police for not checking to make sure she was ok right?

eastside_evil

She’d have a heck of a time driving straight while sitting in the passenger seat. If she’s not driving, what difference does it make what seat she’s in?

By the way, having a past with drinking and driving is not just cause for arresting someone. Don’t be absurd.

But again, they could have investigated the situation to be sure of what you’re suggesting without arresting the woman.
Andy

To clarify things for you Jackee a 4th degree Dwi was her charge initially and that means there were no aggrivating factors i.e prior DWI’s, which also tells me that she has never been charged with any DWI offense in her life. Even if she had prior convictions it still does not constitute the police entering your home. I would hope you would care about all of our ammnedments many men and women have died to protect those laws that protect you. The 4th Ammnedment by the way protects you from unlawful searches and seizures by the police. Again we live in a FREE country this is not I ran we have protections here and for a good reason. What if you are in your garage drinking beers and have the keys in the ignition to listen to the radio which by the way is one step further then this woman, you think the police have a right to enter your home and your property and cite you for DWI? By the way if this woman gets a half way decent attorney these charges will be dismissed and if it truely went down this way the she should sew the city of chaska for violating her civil rights. Cops mad e avery bad move here and I think police get themselves in trouble with these cases because they aren’t well versed in the laws they are also sworn to uphold and defend. It scares me that you are citizen of this country and you don’t know one of the main laws that protects you? “Know em or lose em” This case is exactly how that happens. -Andy

jackee

blah blah blah.. okay maybe charging her with a dwi was wrong. pretty sure the charges will be dropped either way.. but, she should have been brought down to sober up.. if she didn’t want people in her business she shouldn’t of had her garage door open to where people could see her..I still don’t think it is wrong the cops went in her garage.. Maybe the law needs to change up a little bit considering how much our world is changing u think? if she did nothing wrong she should have taken the test… now that will get her in trouble for refusing it… no matter if the cops were wrong or right,,, which I still think they are right.. Maybe, my background is Y I think this way.. I know someone personally who killed a kid from drinking and driving and got away with it with no jail time or prison time.. It’s kinda like police need to take their chances with whats wrong and what’s right.. maybe they felt it was best to arrest in this situation… google how many people die from people who drink and drive each year… we need to do something to prevent this from happening and stopping it before they get out of a driveway or garage might be the best senerio..

eastside_evil

“but, she should have been brought down to sober up”

Wait.

So a person can’t be intoxicated at their home? They need to be brought to the drunk tank to sober up?

Whose business is it?
eastside_evil

Google how many people kill others on the road by sleeping drunk in their car in their homes. Dolt.

Jackee

My goly gosh people… You just never knew what could have happened if the cop didnt take her… jeeeeeeze get over it now it happened and it was a good thing that it happened… it’s clearly not your responsibilty to arrest people.. and the cop must have felt like he was doing the right thing.. if you don’t like it that’s your problem… but, I like it… so it is what it is….we will let the judge decide on if it was wrong or right…

Andy

Jackee so much of what you think is frightinng on so many levels. I’m sorry for what happend to your friend but that has absolutely NOTHING to do with what happend in Chaska. You said you don’t know what could of happend if the cop didn’t take her? Are you Kidding Me ! You don’t get arrested for things you could have done. You have no clue if she was planning on driving. I’m going to have 2 or 3 beers tonight at softball should I be arrested right now becaue I may blow an .08 later? Because the cop felt he was doing the right thing that makes him right? The police used to beat and spray african americans with fire hoses were they right because they were police officers? You want us to look up statistics but did you know becaue of corrupt organizations lke MADD the numbers are scewed anyway. Example, If you are driving stone cold sober and texting and then blow through a red light and slam into a woman who has just left lunch with her friends and had one galss of wine and you kill her, this gets counted in the national statistics as an “alchol related automobile death. Go ahead and google you wont get the right answers any way! Its obvious you have never had your civil liberties violated or you may be singing a different tune. . It makes me sad I’ve spent 15 years in Marines defending you and others civil liberties and you think the way you do. The constitution and and the laws governing it need to be obeyed PERIOD, no exceptions!

Alex

Intent to drive. I have been homeless and slept in my car before.

Jackee

You guys just don’t get it… Maybe a law should go into effect where no matter how much you had to drink you should not be allowed behind the drivers seat of a car.. Maybe this would help save lifes from drunken drivers… the officers were just doing their jobs..Amen to that! Gives one less drunk person from behind the wheel..whether they were driving or not!

Earthman 2020

In this situation the police overstepped their boundary by entering the garage unlawfully. The entire issue here isn’t about keeping drunks off the road… this woman was off the road already and in her own garage. It’s like what Andy said, a violation of our constitutional rights, to be free from unreasonable searches. If these officers really had a heart (and a brain) they would have checked on her, made sure she was ok and out of her car, and then be on their way… without any citation. It should not be a crime to be drunk in your own home, even if you are in your car.. at that point a parked car in your garage is serving as a chair, not a vehicle. We cannot simply arrest people for what they might do or capable of doing, because it’s purely speculation. And in this country we arrest people for acutally committing a crime – and I’m sorry but being drunk in your car in your garage is not a crime. I’m all for being proactive and getting the message out to stop people from getting behind the wheel after drinking but the police do have boundaries and in this case they overstepped their boundary, plain and simple.
Good Ol Boy

Jackee, how old are you?

You are quite obviously very young, from the comments you’ve made. You don’t seem to have had much exposure to “the real world” yet… No offense intended.
Andy

Ok Jackee I’m going to make this simple for you because you are honestly one of the most ignorant people I’ve ever talked to. The police were wrong period, they were the ones who broke the law. The woman was asleep in her vehicle on her property and the police had absolutely no buisness going onto her property. THEY BROKE THE LAW NOT HER. Again how do you know her intent was even to drive? If someone wants to get drunk and falls asleep in their vehicle ON THEIR OWN PROPERTY they have every right to. God Bless America!!! The police are not doing their jobs when they a breaking the law themselves! Because you have a badge it does not allow you to break the law!!!! I hope one day your civil rights are violated, I think its the only way people like you learn the laws of this country. Again she did nothing wrong!

Tiff

Correction – key in ignition is illegal, not key in hand, car not running.

But there again, we do not have all of the details. Just the media blitz, as usual.

Julie

just said in her possession, the keys were not in the ignition.

vinny

no one knows if she was leaving or coming home but regaurdless she was in her garage,the cops are idiots and i hope they get sued and lose a whole bunch of money,maybe the people that pay taxes will set these idiot cops straight,no search warrent ,everything about this is illeagle and the police shoul have to pay dearly and those 2 idiot cops should be fired.america home of the free.

Baby

you should probably learn to spell before you start putting down the police.

MARK

I guess you didn’t read the story. She wasn’t driving, just sitting in her car in her garage on her own property. (I hate drunk drivers too.)
Earthman 2020

This is total B.S. These officers should be fired, no exceptions. They can’t just go into somebody’s garage like that. I’ve had a beer or two in my car before, heck I even had the key in the ignition so I could listen to the radio, and still there is no crime here because I was on MY OWN PROPERTY. This woman didn’t even have the key in the ignition. Police overstepped their boundaries and we the people cannot let this happen! Big time lawsuit here and who’s ultimately going to pay? The taxpayers. And who called the police to begin with? What a bunch of B.S.
Annoyed

Exactly right HJ! What if she didn’t pass out behind the wheel while sitting in her garage? What if she passed out while driving? What if she killed a loved one? Then what?

She chose to drink, she chose to get into the car, she must deal with the consequences. As far as I’m concerned, she’s garbage and deserves everything coming to her.
dabrilloman

@Tiff, in Minnesota, if you just have the keys in hand (or even in the glove box or trunk) and are in the car you can be arrested. The law considers you to be in physical control of the car and that is all they need to take you into custody. I agree it sucks, but that is how the law is.
Sarah Freeborn

MN law clearly supports this arrest. However, based on the media supplied information so far, I have to question the officers motivation. Was it to ensure public safety or to get his name in the newspaper with a unique arrest. You have to decide.

estp

I don’t see any officers names in this article.

Sarah Freeborn

Neither do I. This is just one outlet and the story is far from over.

good job

It doesn’t matter what it was for.. all cops should be recognized for the work they are doing. Without them we would be living in a lot worse world then what we already are. She could have woken up in the car still drunk and then drove.. who knows .. but this officer spared the lives of others if this was the case

Lois Freehdomfries

HAHAHA! Too funny.
dmedic69

Your hilarious. I live in St Paul and you can’t even get a cop to out to your house when over $2000 worth of stuff is stolen from your car and the guy parked next to you has $5000 worth of damage done to the car. Most officers pick and choose what they want to attend to and when. Call in a Drunk driver in MPLS and see what response you get…. you get told to stop following even though the guy just ran you off the road. Listen to a scanner some time and to the cops saying to put that one on hold I’ll get to it later.

Emil

Maybe she went out to have a smoke? I’d like to know who called on her & why.
MRB

First off, I guarantee the case is thrown out because the officers did not have a search warrant to enter the persons garage, provided she can afford a smart and capable attorney. Numerous cases sush as this one have had similar results. Second, officer’s rely on their own digression when handing out tickets, thats why some get speeding tickets and Dwi’s and some don’t. Third, DWI’s are the biggest revenue maker for any city/county. the cops will never admit it, but they want you to drink and drive, $$$$$$!

Sarah Freeborn

The article clearly states that the overhead garage door was open. Also, the officers were called to the scene; possibly even by a resident of this home. Once the officers saw the woman unconscious in the vehicle, exigent circumstances warrant immediate investigation to ensure the woman is not suffering from a potentially fatal medical condition.

I am amused at all the internet attorneys offering legal advise.

Tara Creamcorn

Sarah Freedomtoast, you do know the difference between advice and advise- Right? I’d advice you to look it up before hitting the submit button. If not you lose all credibility.

Tammy

Nobody knows what she had in mind or what she was going to do, so assume all you want she was on her own property and keys were in hand and car not running. thats wrong for the police to do anything. Hey maybe she just wanted to be ready for work in the morning lol . I hate drunk drivers they killed my family but what the police did here was wrong.
John

As far as I know, you cannot be arrested for intent, only for your actions.
Clearly her actions do NOT constitute DWI (Not driving…)
Agree I do, that all DWI offenders need to be removed from the road.
If the police are this bored, then thet need to sit at busyt intersections and ticket the red-light-runners. These people are much more dangerous then simple speeding.
estp

Well thank God they got her before she ran over the snowblower or knocked the garden hoe off of the wall, that would’ve been a tragedy.
eastside_evil

There was a guy in Moorhead or Fargo recently who, during the dead of Winter, got in an argument with his girlfriend in their apartment. He wanted to walk away from the argument and cool down, so he grabbed a 6-pack of beer and went down and sat in his car. He unlocked the doors and sat in it with the keys in his pocket and had 3 beers, and the cops saw him and gave him a DWI.

Yes, of course we want people to NOT drink and drive. But there was no intent to drive in that case. He didn’t even turn the car on to stay warm.

Has anybody ever sat in their carage and worked on their car up on a jack. Repairing brakes or a tire maybe? Ever have the key in the ignition to listen to a few tunes? Anybody got a beer fridge in their garage?

Better hope the cops don’t see you listening to music, because you’ll get a DWI with a wrench in your hand and no shoes on while doing mechanic work on your own property and not driving.

estp

Well put!

Winning!

Close the door!

Tammy

Should’nt have to or am I in a differnt country than I thought I was.

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Woman Cited For DWI In Own Garage

May 19, 2011 11:03 AM

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