Opinion ID: 2227627
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: when a felony has in fact been committed, and the arresting person has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.

Text: Minn.Stat. § 629.37 (1998). The boating while intoxicated charges involved here were misdemeanor offenses. See Minn. Stat. § 86B.331, subd. 1(c) (1998) incorporated into LMCD Code § 3.17 (1997); see also § 169.121, subds. 1(a), 3(b), 11 (1998). Therefore, the special deputies were authorized to arrest respondent if the offenses were committed in their presence. See Smith v. Hubbard, 253 Minn. 215, 220, 91 N.W.2d 756, 761 (1958) (holding a public offense includes a misdemeanor). The statute is silent with respect to authorizing citizens to investigate and secure evidence in addition to their direct observations. While we have never addressed this question, we have decided several cases concerning the arrest powers of peace officers outside of their jurisdiction. See Piotrowski v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 453 N.W.2d 689, 690-91 (Minn. 1990); State v. Schinzing, 342 N.W.2d 105, 108-09 (Minn.1983); State, Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Juncewski, 308 N.W.2d 316, 321 (Minn.1981); State v. Filipi, 297 N.W.2d 275, 277-78 (Minn.1980). The state argues that because these cases hold that a peace officer outside of his jurisdiction has the authority to effect a citizen's arrest, the powers of citizen's arrest must include the power to perform investigations. These cases are distinguishable on their facts, as they all involve the powers of a peace officer outside his jurisdiction, not the powers of a private citizen. Given the comprehensive certification and licensing program for peace officers, determining the authority of a peace officer to investigate crimes outside of the officer's jurisdiction simply involves different considerations than the considerations inherent in allowing private citizens to investigate. We have in the past emphasized the importance of the arresting person's direct observations in establishing a basis for the arrest. See Smith, 253 Minn. at 221, 91 N.W.2d at 762 (holding that an offense is committed in the presence of an officer when the officer becomes aware of offense as a result of his sensory perception). Particularly in the context of suspected intoxication, however, we are concerned that a ruling effectively encouraging a citizen to investigate the extent of suspected intoxication may result in injury or other offense to the citizen. Moreover, we note that there is still opportunity for a valid post-arrest investigation because citizens are required to take the arrested person to a judge or peace officer without unnecessary delay. Minn.Stat. § 629.39 (1998). We therefore hold that citizens are not authorized to conduct investigations after observing a public offense committed in the citizen's presence under Minn.Stat. § 629.37. As such, even if the special deputies are considered private citizens, the district court properly excluded the results of both the field sobriety and preliminary breath tests.