When we left Officer Chenowyth and the driver, they were engaged in a fairly one-sided question-and-answer session regarding the driver's possible consumption of alcohol. Let's stop here and take a look at what is going on and where it is happening.
"Where are they stopped?" is the first question. Are they on Route 102, just down from the Applebee's, or are they up on Orchard View Drive by the T. J. Maxx? Does it make a difference in how Officer Chenowyth addresses the stop? Or the questioning? Where are they standing as they have this conversation? Beside the driver's car? In between them? To the passenger side of the cars?
When a police officer asks a driver to step out of the car, he wants to be sure that it is as safe as possible to do so. From that moment on the officer is responsible for the citizen's personal safety To ensure the driver's safety, Officer Chenowyth must determine the safest place in which to continue her investigation. Most often at night that is between the two cars, where there is the most light for both parties. During the day, often the officer will conduct her investigation from the passenger side of the car, especially if traffic is busy. Let's say in this case the officer has made the stop on Route 102, going towards Hudson, just past the MacDonald's. At 5:30 p.m. that stretch can be very congested, with drivers jockeying for position as they approach the light. Keep in mind the officer is also responsible for the safety of the two little ones in the back seat.
During her questions to the driver about her drinking, Chenowyth is assessing the driver's answers to see if they make sense; she is also looking at the driver's reactions to the questions and any other indication that the driver is impaired, or not. Sometimes when people are impaired they will sway as they respond, in some more extreme — but not unusual — cases, the subject of the investigation cannot stand up. The police officer may also have other concerns. Here Officer Chenowyth is trying to determine if she can still smell or identify the odor outside the car. From the officer's perspective, it is all a part of the investigation.
At this point Officer Chenowyth has enough suspicion that she can say or write about to ask the driver some questions about field-sobriety testing or FST's. After the driver agrees to take some tests, Officer Chenowyth inquires, " Ma'am, do you have any medical condition that would inhibit your abilities to take a test?" The driver seems slightly confused, and asks, "What do you mean, tests? Like a written test?"
Chenowyth, realizing the driver — impaired or not — is likely very nervous, explains the nature of the tests to the driver, saying that the tests are a standardized battery of divided-attention tests that allow the officer to make a decision about whether or not a person is OK to drive. She also asks whether the driver is taking any medication that would impact either her driving or her ability to take the FST.
Next week: the tests.
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Londonderry police Capt. Bill Hart's column appears Fridays in the Derry News.
