Washington Supreme Court Holds Tribal Police Officer Can Pursue DUI Drivers Off The Reservation!
By Diego Vargas | September 17, 2009In an unusual case arising from a Washington State DUI arrest, the Washington Supreme Court today held that a Lummi Nation tribal police officer who witnessed a DUI motorist on the reservation driving at night with high beams and drifting across the center divider could pursue the vehicle off the reservation and then detain the driver, who was ultimately arrested for DUI. This is allowed as part of the “fresh pursuit doctrine.” This doctrine has been applied in other DUI arrest cases, but this is the first involving a tribal officer making a DUI arrest off the reservation. The court’s opinion states, “..the fresh pursuit doctrine must apply to tribes because the doctrine is a necessary means of actualizing the tribe’s inherent power to enforce its internal laws.”
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