Riley, J.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellant-Defendant, Mary Osborne (Osborne), appeals the trial court’s denial of her motion to suppress.
We reverse and remand.
ISSUE
Osborne raises one issue on interlocutory appeal, which we restate as follows: Whether the warrantless seizure of Osborne violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
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… Officer Jason Arnold (Officer Arnold) of the Fishers Police Department was assisting two other police officers with an operating while intoxicated investigation on 116th Street in Fishers, Hamilton County, Indiana. During the course of that investigation, dispatch advised that a clerk working at the Marathon gas station, located near 116th Street and Brook School Road had reported that a female subject . . . was stuck underneath her vehicle in the parking lot. Officer Arnold responded to the call and drove to the gas station, which was approximately a mile to a mile and a half away. …
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As Officer Arnold neared the gas station, he received an update from dispatch that the female had gotten herself out from under the vehicle and was leaving. When he arrived at the gas station, he observed a vehicle matching the reported description driving away. Although he did not witness the driver—later identified as Osborne—commit any traffic violations, Officer Arnold initiated a traffic stop. …
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Officer Arnold approached the driver-side window, and although he did not observe any blood or other apparent injuries, he indicated that “there could be something wrong with her . . . internally.” …Osborne informed Officer Arnold that “she was fine” and declined medical treatment. …
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Osborne’s explanation convinced Officer Arnold that she was not in need of medical or other assistance. However, as he was questioning her, Officer Arnold noticed signs of possible impairment, including the odor of alcohol on her breath, red and watery eyes, and slurred speech. … According to the probable cause affidavit, Officer Arnold conducted several field sobriety tests, which Osborne failed. In addition, Officer Arnold administered a portable breathalyzer test, which indicated that Osborne’s alcohol level was 0.12. …On December 19, 2014, the State filed an Information, charging Osborne with Count I, operating a vehicle while intoxicated in a manner that endangers a person…; and Count II, operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least 0.08 gram of alcohol per 210 liters of the person’s breath…
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… Osborne filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained during the course of the traffic stop. She argued that the warrantless seizure— i.e., the traffic stop—violated both the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. On September 15, 2015, the trial court conducted a hearing, and on October 5, 2015, the trial court issued a Suppression Order, denying Osborne’s motion. …The trial court concluded that “Officer Arnold stopped [Osborne’s] vehicle as part of his ‘community caretaking’ function”; therefore, the warrantless seizure did not run afoul of either the federal Constitution or the Indiana Constitution.
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Based on the foregoing, we conclude that the community caretaking function of police officers may apply to justify a traffic stop where the officer does not otherwise observe a traffic violation or have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. However, based on the facts of this case, we conclude that the exercise of Officer Arnold’s community caretaking function was not reasonable and, therefore, violated Osborne’s Fourth Amendment rights.
Reversed and remanded.
Pyle, J. concurs
Kirsch, J. dissents without separate opinion.