Court Opinion

ID: 9731704
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:55:15.42289+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:20.563212
License: Public Domain

*267DISSENTING OPINION BY
Judge FRIEDMAN.
As stated by the majority, the sole issue presented in this driver’s license suspension case is whether the arresting officer, Corporal Kenneth F. Massey, had reasonable grounds to believe that Thomas Helt (Helt) was operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Because I believe that the answer is no, I respectfully dissent.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (DOT), acting pursuant to section 1547 of the Vehicle Code,1 suspended Helt’s operating privilege for one year because Helt refused to submit to chemical testing after his February 12, 2002, arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Helt appealed the suspension, and the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County (trial court) held a trial de novo. The trial court’s findings can be summarized as follows.
Corporal Massey arrived at the scene of a one-vehicle accident and observed an unoccupied van that had struck a telephone pole. A man known to Corporal Massey as Jordan was sitting near the van, and a woman, Kara Maggio, had stopped at the accident scene. Jordan stated that he had been a passenger in the van and that “Tom,” who lives at Bender Drive, had been driving the van. Jordan provided no other details, and Corporal Massey did not request further information from him. Maggio told Corporal Massey that another man had been at the accident scene, and Maggio had given the man a ride to his home. Maggio directed police to 605 Bender Drive and identified Helt through the front window as the person she had driven from the accident scene. Helt, who was known to Corporal Massey from prior contacts, permitted officers to enter the home, and, in response to questioning, Helt denied any involvement in the accident. Corporal Massey observed that Helt’s eyes were red and glassy and that he had a very strong odor of alcohol on his breath, but Corporal Massey was unable to gauge Helt’s balance because a foot injury, unrelated to the accident, affected Helt’s ability to stand. Corporal Massey placed Helt under arrest for DUI, and, on the way to police headquarters, they stopped at the scene of the accident, where Jordan identified Helt as the driver of the van. At the police station, Corporal Massey read Helt the requisite implied consent warnings and requested that Helt take a breath test, which Helt refused to do.
Based on these facts, the trial court sustained Helt’s appeal from his suspension, concluding that DOT failed to offer evidence sufficient to support the first element of its burden of proof.2 That is, the trial court held that DOT’s evidence did not establish that Corporal Massey had *268reasonable grounds to believe that Helt was driving the van involved in the accident while under the influence of alcohol. Noting that Corporal Massey arrested Helt based solely on Jordan’s statements identifying Helt as the van’s driver, the trial court stated:
In the instant case, the evidence showed that without any explanation, valid or otherwise, the police chose to believe the self-serving statements of an individual at the scene of a one-vehicle accident to the effect that he was not the driver and to focus their investigation solely upon an individual who at best could be placed at the accident scene but without any corroborating evidence of his involvement in the incident.
(Trial ct. op. at 6) (emphasis added). Unlike the majority, I do not believe that the trial court erred or abused its discretion in applying such reasoning.3
Whether reasonable grounds exist is a question of law reviewable by the court on a case by case basis. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing v. Malizio, 152 Pa.Cmwlth. 57, 618 A.2d 1091 (1992). However, the test applied for determining whether an officer had reasonable grounds to believe a motorist operated a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol is not very demanding. Gasper v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 674 A.2d 1200 (Pa.Cmwlth.), appeal denied, 546 Pa. 666, 685 A.2d 546 (1996). If a reasonable person in the position of the arresting officer, viewing the facts and circumstancés as they appeared to the arresting officer, could have concluded that the motorist operated the vehicle while under the influence, reasonable grounds are established. Banner v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 558 Pa. 439, 737 A.2d 1203 (1999); Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing v. Park, 143 Pa.Cmwlth. 7, 598 A.2d 578 (1991). It is not necessary that the officer, or any witnesses, see the motorist operating the vehicle. Moreover, an officer’s reasonable belief will not be rendered ineffective if later discovery might disclose that it was erroneous. Malizio; Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing v. Cantanese, 111 Pa.Cmwlth. 128, 533 A.2d 512 (1987). The police officer’s belief must only be objective in light of the surrounding circumstances, and the existence of reasonable alternative conclusions does not necessarily preclude the officer’s actual belief from being reasonable. McCallum v. Commonwealth, 140 Pa.Cmwlth. 317, 592 A.2d 820 (1991).
Here, in concluding that DOT’s evidence failed to satisfy even these undemanding standards for establishing reasonable grounds, the trial court focuses on Corporal Massey’s unexplained acceptance of Jordan’s statement that he was a passenger in the van and that the van was driven by Helt. Although I do not question Corporal Massey’s right to rely on Jordan’s self-serving statement in formulating his belief as to the driver of the vehicle, I agree that the trial court had no basis to conclude that such belief was reasonable absent some explanation or other corroborating evidence. That was not present here.
Indeed, during his testimony, Corporal Massey stated that, in pursuing Helt, he was going on Jordan’s statement that he wasn’t driving. Simply, Jordan made the statement that Helt was driving, and Corporal Massey believed him. (Hearing of *269April 29, 2003, N.T. at 32; R.R. at 44a.) Corporal Massey admitted that he observed nothing at the accident scene or at Helt’s home to corroborate Jordan’s statement. While Corporal Massey clearly believed that Jordan’s word was enough to identify Helt as the driver, I submit that this self-serving statement, by itself, falls far short of supporting a reasonable belief that Helt drove the van while under the influence of alcohol, thereby justifying Corporal Massey’s request that Helt submit to chemical testing.4
Accordingly, I would affirm the order of the trial court.
President Judge COLINS and Judge SMITH-RIBNER join in this dissenting opinion.

. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547. Section 1547 of the Vehicle Code authorizes DOT to suspend the driving privileges of a licensee for one year where the licensee is placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, and the licensee refuses a police officer's request to submit to chemical testing.

. To establish a prima facie case in support of a suspension of operating privileges under section 1547 of the Vehicle Code, DOT must establish that the licensee: (1) was arrested for driving under the influence by a police officer who had reasonable grounds to believe that the licensee was operating or was in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol; (2) was asked to submit to a chemical test; (3) refused to do so; and (4) was warned that refusal might result in a license suspension. Banner v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 558 Pa. 439, 737 A.2d 1203 (1999). The trial court determined that DOT’s evidence unequivocally established the final three elements of its prima facie case.

. Our scope of review in a license suspension case is limited to determining whether necessary findings are supported by competent evidence of record and whether the trial court committed an error of law or abused its discretion in making its decision. Todd v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 555 Pa. 193, 723 A.2d 655 (1999).

. DOT argues that Corporal Massey had every right to accept the word of someone he had known for years and, thus, knew to be trustworthy. If Corporal Massey had indicated that this was why he accepted Jordan's statement, I might agree that Corporal Massey’s unquestioned acceptance of Jordan’s version of events was reasonable. However, that did not happen here. As the majority points out, the trial court found that Corporal Massey genuinely believed Jordan concerning the identity of the van’s driver. Nevertheless, the trial court would not conclude the belief was reasonable as a matter of law because, other than Jordan's self-serving statement, the record provided no basis for that belief. Unlike the majority, I do not believe this was error.