Need some help from a 1970s NYPD officer or NYC attorney

[transit]

Yeah, I thought the "Civilian" title sounded strange when I first heard a NYPD/FDNY employee use it. But with so many friends and family "on the job", after so many decades it sounds normal now.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

It is normal, and you used it correctly based on common usage and the dictionary definition.

Non-cops, including our military, may or may not be "citizens." All cops certainly are.

Non-cops (-and non-organized crime members, according to Clemeza in the Godfather ) are civilians.

But I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[hkcavalier]

There is no "drunk and disorderly" in New York and no cop would use that phrase.

She could be arrested for Disorderly Conduct ("dis con"), a violation, but generally would not be. For that she would most often receive a criminal summons which would require her to appear in court at a later date. In many cases that would be issued right on the street, like a traffic ticket. She could also be brought in to the station house and released with a summons.

If she was too drunk to care for herself, she would likely be sent to the hospital as an aided intox, sometimes with that summons in her pocket, most often not. You're really not supposed to summons a drunk. Drunks are generally not arrested in NYC because nobody wants to be stuck with them. It does happen, a lot, but not if it can be avoided. There would usually need to be another reason (criminal offense) for a custodial arrest.

If she simply "slapped" a cop, that would be Harassment, a violation. You say she did this "while detained." I'm not sure what that means.

If she slapped a cop after being arrested, while being printed, for example, she would probably get some wall to wall counseling and that would be the end of it, no additional charges. By then they would know who she was anyway.

If she did it on the street, she likely would get knocked down and then arrested. In that case, today she'd catch an Assault 2 charge. In the '70s? Probably Assault 3. In either case, a Resisting Arrest as well.

And yes, your outcome is reasonable.

In the '70s she'd be unlikely to get mandatory rehab, especially as a celebrity. Today she'd probably receive an ACOD which is an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, that is: don't get collared for the same thing for six months or a year (whatever the judge decides) and the whole thing will be wiped away.

Anyway, that's off the top of my head.

So a police officer, driving, sees a woman staggering on the sidewalk in Lower Manhattan, does...what? Keeps driving?

Good info on the drunk and disorderly. Maybe I shouldn't have used the term "detained" when it's still just contact. In any case, she struck a cop in front of his partner, accident or no.

So what's with Ron White's "Drunk in Public" story? He was supposedly in New York City at the time...

 

[tedog]

Where I worked and knowing my fellow officers, she would have been slapped.

 

[transit]

So a police officer, driving, sees a woman staggering on the sidewalk in Lower Manhattan, does...what? Keeps driving?

Good info on the drunk and disorderly. Maybe I shouldn't have used the term "detained" when it's still just contact. In any case, she struck a cop in front of his partner, accident or no.

So what's with Ron White's "Drunk in Public" story? He was supposedly in New York City at the time...

Public intoxication is a violation in NY, but one that is just not on the radar for working cops in NYC. In the absence of a better reason, drunks are sent to the hospital, not arrested.

I went back and watched Ron White's story. Funny as hell, haven't seen it in a long time. To break it down, if there was an event as described, he says that he broke a chair in the bar, that would be a Criminal Mischief and he might be arrested for that. He also talks about being in the bar's parking lot, so definitely not a bar in Manhattan. Maybe one of the outer boroughs. Or maybe just a great bit.

So, a woman staggering on the sidewalk? Depends; time of day, location, state of dress, obvious injuries...

In the '70s, in lower Manhattan, e.g. Lower East Side, the Bowery, needle park, Alphabet City, etc.? A drunk broad on the sidewalk? -Yes, the sector would drive right by.

If for some reason they stopped to interact with her and she hit one of them, that would depend on the guy. She would almost certainly get knocked on her ***. Then, she'd likely get sent to the hospital as a drunk who fell on the sidewalk.

Nobody wants to babysit a nasty drunk woman and get lost in the Tombs for the next day or two, maybe get roped into riding the wagon around the city picking up prisoners, just for a top charge of Resisting that some junior ADA is going to roll his eyes at when he goes to draw up a Harassment.

Unless, the cop is looking for some overtime. In which case, it's not about the outcome, it's about the income.