[A2J]

A cop cannot legally arrest someone for a misdemeanor unless he personally witnessed the crime.

So, a cop arrives at the scene of an accident, which he didn't personally witness, and where a driver has wrapped his car around a light pole. No injuries.

When the cop approaches the driver, he detects the odor of alcohol and proceeds with ascertaining whether alcohol had anything to do with the accident. He finds that it did and arrests the subject for DWI (DUI in some states), which is a misdemeanor.

Are you telling me that he has to let the driver go after he issues a citation to him?

You're wrong as far as attempting to establish that a cop has to witness a misdemeanor before he can arrest and book a suspect.

Do you live in Canada, maybe?

[connectthedots]

From the article;Justice Sandra Day O'Connor pointed out that the court has never given police the authority to demand someone's identification without probable cause that they have done something wrong. But she also acknowledged that police might want to run someone's name through computers to check for a criminal history.

Hiibel was approached by a deputy in May 2000 next to a pickup truck parked off a road near Winnemucca, Nev. The officer, called to the scene because of a complaint about arguing between Hiibel and his daughter,

So, a cop arrives at the scene of an accident, which he didn't personally witness, and where a driver has wrapped his car around a light pole. No injuries.

When the cop approaches the driver, he detects the odor of alcohol and proceeds with ascertaining whether alcohol had anything to do with the accident. He finds that it did and arrests the subject for DWI (DUI in some states), which is a misdemeanor.

As you can see from the article, the guy wasn't drunk; and he wasn't driving. Your scenario does not fit the facts of this case (at least as presented by the article).

However, under your scenario, the cop would have been a witness since he would have seen that the guy was drunk and had hit a pole. He therefore would have had probable cause to arrest the guy. Drunk driving is a felony in many states, so the rule about it not being lawful to arrest someone for a misdemeanor unless the cop witnessed the crime would not apply.

You're wrong as far as attempting to establish that a cop has to witness a misdemeanor before he can arrest and book a suspect.

While you may not think I do not know the law concerning this issue, you are the one who is wrong.

Do you live in Canada, maybe?

Check my FR home page.