He argued that the officer lacked any cause for the stop, and that it violated the state and federal constitutions. In general the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects an individual from searches and seizures absent a warrant based on probable cause. One exception to the warrant requirement is for a temporary detention based on reasonable suspicion. Another is for detentions made in connection with an officer s exercise of a community caretaking function. The community caretaking function is based on and arises out of the multiple roles a peace officer performs.
Officers enforce the law, gather evidence, and investigate criminal and some non-criminal activity.
Officers also perform various duties related to community caretaking. An officer might stop to assist a person who needs help. Whether someone needs help is determined by whether a reasonable person would believe that another needed assistance from the totality of circumstances. Factors such as the nature and level of the person s distress, where the person is found, whether the person is alone or has access to other assistance, and the extent to which the person is a danger to himself or others, may be used to evaluate whether an officer s intervention is reasonable. In this case the office saw the defendant s car, with the engine running, stopped in front of a road barrier.