Opinion ID: 1726381
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Warsame's Flight and I.A.'s Medical Condition

Text: The state also argues that Warsame's flight from the scene of the alleged assault and I.A.'s potential medical condition inside the house constituted ongoing emergencies. Warsame argues that there were no ongoing emergencies because N.A. was under police protection and Warsame was being pursued as soon as the interrogation began. Warsame further argues that any emergency cannot be expanded beyond N.A.'s situation because Davis/Hammon defines emergency narrowly to include only an immediate and continuing threat, not [p]ossible concerns and emergencies. We conclude that the Davis/Hammon test should not be interpreted so narrowly. In effect, Warsame interprets the Davis/Hammon test to circumscribe what may constitute an ongoing emergency to a narrow geographic proximity, based on the declarant's location. We acknowledge such an interpretation comports with the facts in Davis, Hammon, and Wright, but we conclude that the Supreme Court did not intend to restrict what may constitute an ongoing emergency to such a limited area. For example, in Davis/Hammon, the Court observed that in response to domestic disputes, officers `need to know whom they are dealing with in order to assess the situation, the threat to their own safety, and possible danger to the potential victim.' 126 S.Ct. at 2279 (quoting Hiibel, 542 U.S. at 186, 124 S.Ct. 2451); see also 126 S.Ct. at 2276 (stating that in order to resolve a present emergency, law enforcement may have to establish an assailant's identity so that the dispatched officers might know whether they would be encountering a violent felon (citing Hiibel, 542 U.S. at 186, 124 S.Ct. 2451)). Although the police in the Hammon case were encountering the alleged assailant at the scene of the crime, where the victim remained, the necessity to assess the assailant and any threat to personal safety is equally applicable when the police are pursuing that assailant outside of the victim's proximity. Courts in other jurisdictions have concluded that ongoing emergencies may exist beyond the declarant's geographic proximity, even when police are with the declarant and particularly when a dangerous suspect remains at large. See State v. Kemp, 212 S.W.3d 135, 149 (Mo.2007) (concluding that a victim's statements were not testimonial where she described her assailant's possible location, stated that the assailant was armed with a gun, and stated that he was on drugs, which warned the police of possible erratic or dangerous behavior upon arrival). In State v. Ayer, the New Hampshire Supreme Court concluded that a witness's statements were nontestimonial when the interrogating officer did not know where the perpetrator was, whether he was armed, whether the perpetrator might have other targets, and whether the violence might continue elsewhere. 154 N.H. 500, 917 A.2d 214, 224-25 (2006). The court concluded that such information was necessary for the officer to address an existing threat to his safety and the safety of others. Id. at 224. We conclude that extending an emergency beyond the declarant's geographic proximity comports with the fundamental concern the Supreme Court considered in Davis/Hammon, which was distinguishing between interrogations by the police for the purpose of addressing ongoing emergencies and interrogations for the purpose of gathering evidence for trial. We conclude that if the objective circumstances of the interrogation indicate that the primary purpose is to address an ongoing emergency, regardless of where that emergency is occurring, a declarant's statements are nontestimonial. In order to meet this standard, the interrogation must relate directly to addressing the emergency. If the interrogator is not eliciting information that may be useful in addressing the ongoing emergency, then it cannot be maintained that the interrogation's primary purpose is to address that emergency. [4] Applying the foregoing rules to the facts in this case, we conclude that Warsame's flight and I.A.'s potential medical condition both constitute ongoing emergencies. Viewed objectively, N.A.'s statements caused the police to address the two other exigencies created by the alleged assault. First, N.A.'s identification of Warsame and her description of the assault enabled Olson to report the suspect's name and possible weapon to the officers in pursuit, which, as in Kemp and Ayer, provided those officers with more information to better address that situation. [5] Second, N.A.'s statement revealed that a third partyI.A.had been cut by a knife during the assault, which information, when viewed objectively, may have caused Olson to enter the house earlier than he would have without that information. N.A.'s statement apparently did not provide insight into the severity of I.A.'s condition, so further investigation was necessary to ensure there was no ongoing medical emergency inside the house. It is objectively reasonable to conclude that an emergency existed in that location until Olson was able to conclude that emergency medical assistance was unnecessary. The objective circumstances under which the interrogation was conducted further buttress our conclusion that the primary purpose of the interrogation was to address ongoing emergencies. While Wilson was questioning N.A., he did not recall taking any notes other than N.A.'s name, birthday, and telephone number, and Wilson's questions were not specific and thorough, as one might otherwise expect when interrogating a crime victim. Also, while Olson was present at the interrogation, he took no notes and instead dispatched information over his police radio that was helpful to the pursuit of Warsame. These are not objective indications that the officers were primarily gathering evidence for a criminal prosecution. Based on the foregoing analysis, we conclude that the court of appeals correctly concluded that there were three ongoing emergencies while N.A. was being interrogated: (1) N.A.'s medical condition; (2) Warsame's flight; and (3) I.A.'s medical condition.
Warsame argues that even if there were ongoing emergencies for purposes of our Confrontation Clause analysis, those emergencies ended in a short time and did not last the entire 15- to 20-minute interrogation. As previously noted, an interrogation that begins for the purpose of determining the need for emergency assistance can evolve into testimonial statements once that purpose has been achieved. Davis/Hammon, 126 S.Ct. at 2277. The state has the burden of proving that a particular statement does not violate a defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. State v. Burrell, 697 N.W.2d 579, 600 (Minn.2005) (citing State v. King, 622 N.W.2d 800, 807 (Minn.2001)). Here, the state must demonstrate that N.A.'s statements were made before the emergencies ended, and if all emergencies ended before the 15- to 20-minute interrogation concluded, the state must demonstrate which of N.A.'s statements were made before those emergencies ended. [6] Based on Olson's testimony, Warsame was not apprehended and I.A.'s condition was uncertain until just after Olson left Wilson and N.A. But the chronology of facts that N.A. had given at that point is not clear. The court of appeals concluded that N.A.'s narrative account of the assault recounted by Wilson, which apparently refers to the block quotation recited in the fact section above, was made within the time before Olson left. Warsame II, 723 N.W.2d at 642. Because Olson heard N.A. refer to the knife, and information about the knife was given in this narrative account, the court of appeals concluded that the narrative account was nontestimonial. Id. According to Wilson, the narrative account was elicited through his initial, open-ended question, what happened? Because the apprehension and possible victim emergencies did not end before Olson left the curb, anything he heard N.A. say, which included the suspect's description, the use of a knife in the assault, and an injury to a third party, must have been said before those emergencies ended. But the record is not clear as to whether Olson stayed for the entire narrative account, and if he left during the account, what information he may have missed. In addition, Olson remembered hearing facts from N.A. that Wilson did not testify to hearing at the Rasmussen hearing, including Warsame's physical description and that a third party was injured inside N.A.'s home. Based on those discrepancies, it is difficult to delineate a chronology for what N.A. said at what time. The only certainty from this record is that N.A.'s initial, volunteered statement to Wilson was nontestimonial, and everything Olson heard N.A. say was said before Warsame was apprehended and I.A.'s medical status was verified.
We conclude that under the Davis/Hammon primary purpose test, N.A. made nontestimonial statements up to the point Warsame was apprehended and Olson verified I.A.'s medical status. The record reflects that Olson's testimony about what N.A. said was all nontestimonial, but because Wilson's testimony lacked chronological development, the record is unclear regarding what Wilson heard N.A. say that might be nontestimonial. Therefore, before the state is allowed to admit N.A.'s statements through Wilson's testimony, other than the initial, volunteered statement and those statements that conform to what Olson heard, the state must demonstrate that the statements were made before the emergencies at issue ended. We hold that the court of appeals erred when it concluded that all of N.A.'s statements were nontestimonial and admissible in court. Because neither the state nor the district court had the benefit of the rules articulated in Davis/Hammon and Wright at the Rasmussen hearing, we remand to the district court so that the court may make a determination in a manner consistent with those cases and our holding in this case, including whether any part of N.A.'s statement was made after the emergencies ended. [7] The district court may develop the record in any manner it deems appropriate. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.