Drunk in Public

[Shift]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

Hello Everyone,

I have a question regarding a possible Drunk In Public I might have received this weekend. I'm 20 years old and I ended up getting too drunk, and not remembering too much. I was told that I ran out of a party and then the supposedly the cops grabbed me. Now, when I am drunk I am still very coordinated and fairly coherent, and I know I was not taken to jail because my friend ended up picking me up from the house I was at. But I'm not sure nor is anyone else if I received a citation because I might have easily lost it. I was wondering if I should call the police department records office and ask about the possible citation I may have received or not? If I call, how should I ask about it? I understand how stupid of a situation I put myself in. Thanks

[cdwjava]

The agency would have been putting themselves at risk for liability if they issued a citation for PC 647(f) (public intoxication) though it is possible that they agreed to release you with a citation to a responsible SOBER person. It is also possible that they might have issued you a citation for some other offense and not for public intox.

If you are that concerned, you might consider contacting the involved agency to see what's up. Or, speak to the friend and find out if the police spoke to him or her as to what they might recall.

[Shift]

Hey cdwjava, thanks for your response. None of my friends are sure about what happened when the police grabbed me, I've already tried asking them. I was planning on calling the police department tomorrow, but what should I ask? "Hey I don't remember what happened Friday night, but I was wondering if you could tell me if I got a citation?" Would saying something like that be throwing myself under a bus?

[cdwjava]

Hey cdwjava, thanks for your response. None of my friends are sure about what happened when the police grabbed me, I've already tried asking them. I was planning on calling the police department tomorrow, but what should I ask? "Hey I don't remember what happened Friday night, but I was wondering if you could tell me if I got a citation?" Would saying something like that be throwing myself under a bus?

They cannot arrest you retroactively for this, nor would they care to.

You can always go in and ask for a report of the incident or some documentation concerning your contact with the police and you should not have to give a reason. They may not have any record to provide you, but you can ask. They might be able to tell you nothing more than the officers responded to a disturbance and then cleared without an arrest, citation or report.