Opinion ID: 3064547
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The arrest and impoundment

Text: According to Montez, after performing the pat-down search he took Ramirez’s pulse and found it to be 132 beats per minute. Montez also administered a field sobriety test called the “Romberg test.” The Romberg test evaluates an individual’s internal clock by asking the individual to estimate the passing of thirty seconds while standing with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. It is within the acceptable margin of error for an individual to take between twenty and forty seconds to estimate the passing of thirty seconds. According to Montez, Ramirez took forty-five seconds to estimate the passing of thirty seconds. As a precaution, Montez also requested that a follow-up officer respond because once out of his vehicle, Ramirez appeared to be irritable and confrontational. Accord3804 RAMIREZ v. BUENA PARK ing to Montez, because Ramirez had exhibited several classic signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance, including apparent uncontrollable sleepiness, irritability, rapid breathing, dilated pupils, markedly elevated pulse and distorted time perception, along with the lack of any medical explanation for his symptoms, he arrested Ramirez for violation of California Health and Safety Code § 11550.1 According to Ramirez, after the pat-down search, Montez demanded to know what kind of drugs he was doing. Ramirez again told Montez that he did not use drugs or drink alcohol. After ordering Ramirez to hold out his left arm, Montez held Ramirez’s left wrist for about fifteen seconds while he looked at his watch. According to Ramirez, he explained to Montez that many times he worked about seventy-five to eighty hours a week as the owner of an Outback Steakhouse in Buena Park, that he was simply resting in the parking lot because he was very tired, and that his home was located a little over a mile away. According to Ramirez, Montez then had him sit in the backseat of the patrol car while Montez used the car’s computer console. Ramirez claims that Montez then ordered him out of the car and administered three field sobriety tests: the Romberg test, the finger to nose test (which required Ramirez to extend his arms parallel to the ground, to tilt his head back, and to touch his nose with alternating index fingers), and the pupil measurement test. According to Ramirez, he performed the finger to nose test perfectly. Montez then handcuffed Ramirez and placed him in the back of the patrol car. In response to Montez’s request for a follow-up officer, Buena Park police officers Frank Hornung and Marc Odom arrived at the scene. Upon their arrival, Montez asked Hornung and Odom to store Ramirez’s vehicle for safekeep- 1 Section 11550 prohibits persons from either using or being under the influence of certain enumerated controlled substances. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11550. RAMIREZ v. BUENA PARK 3805 ing, and they did so pursuant to California Vehicle Code § 22651(h)(1).2 Montez then transported Ramirez to the police station where he conducted further tests in an effort to determine what class of drug (or drugs) Ramirez may have taken. Montez testified that it was at the police station that he first measured Ramirez’s pupils with a pupilometer. After administering the tests, Montez “opined” that Ramirez was under the influence of a CNS stimulant. Montez then ordered a blood test. Montez issued Ramirez a citation and released him on his own recognizance. The blood test later came back negative.