In what world do we let a drunk person out of a holding cell before they are sober? Is this a PA thing? I'm pretty sure the other states I lived in had that policy, no release until sober.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

Most police stations detains a DUI offender for 8 hours after arrest. Or this is only state specific?

Yeah I'm not sure.

He down bad

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To my knowledge this is very jurisdiction specific. In a bigger city like Allentown, Reading, etc. where they have multiple holding cells and officers to man those blocks, they’ll keep them until they sober up. The vast majority of PD’s in the state and throughout the country likely don’t have such manpower so they release the person to a family member or friend so the police don’t have to babysit.

I know in several PA counties they’ll either take you home to a family member/friend or have someone pick you up if they’re too far away because most of the PDs only have a handful of people working at any given time.

So state police in rural areas will arrest then release you to a family member. I’ve actually seen this happen to two different people. One was released then went straight to his car the other went to bed woke up 8 hours later and got his car and still blew over 0.6

It's common in PA. Drunks can't be locked up unless they're considered a danger to themselves or others. With DUI's once they're processed and if a third party is willing they're released with a court date.

Unlike a lot of states, when you're arrested in Pennsylvania, you're not automatically locked up in a county jail. Lancaster county also doesn't run a central booking center with the sheriff's office for processing of an arrested person. So they're released. More than likely this person went home, got his keys or spare keys and went got his car. Well as he was driving, he got caught in a DUI checkpoint where he was arrested again for DUI. This time he had a bail hearing before a district justice and was remanded to Lancaster county prison.

Look, in Lancaster it's entirely possible that they held him until he was sober then he just went and got drunk again.

Talk about over achiever

Nah a lot of them get processed and leave within a few hours

State police in rural areas will arrest them release you to a family member.

I know for a fact that rural counties in NY release people before they sober up. A friend of mine got two DWIs in the same night. The second DWI involved him crashing into parked cars. Property damage could have been avoided if they just kept him locked up.

I know Cumberland and dauphin counties just process them and release to a sober party. Booking centers would be stuffed full on Friday and Saturday nights if they didn’t release them.

What’s a DUI in a horse and buggy called ?

Not in most counties in PA

A lot of rural and small town departments don't have the staffing to have someone sitting at the station 24/7 to babysit the holding cells. They're going to either process and release an arrestee as quickly as possible, or hand them off to the county jail.

While I agree that it's a sensible and logical idea, the police aren't babysitters.

You're found driving intoxicated, you get taken to the station, you get written up, and because you're not charged with something that requires you to be locked up, you're let go.

Plus the police probably have no right to detain you in that case.

But yes, I agree, letting them sober up safely at the station, would be wise.

FWIW Manheim Township is hardly rural. It's massive shopping centers, expensive suburbs, and a few farms. This was local/township police, which makes it a little odd IMO.

Wait. Point six??!!????!!!!

Not .06 - if that's not a typo, Jesus Christ on a pogo stick!!

A State house candidate?

Well whatever the legal limit is. I had one mixed drink then got a call to be someplace and was pulled over. I blew a .013. Then they wouldn’t even take blood to prove I wasn’t drunk. I fought the case and had it knocked down to open container.

They are following the law. See Rule 519

https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/234/chapter5/s519.html&d=reduce

.08 is the federal max - not sure if states like Utah have lower local limits, but .6 means the person should be damned near legally dead at the time.

Rule 519: when a defendant has been arrested without a warrant in a court case, a complaint shall be filed against the defendant and the defendant shall be afforded a preliminary arraignment by the proper issuing authority without unnecessary delay.

Basically misdemeanors and down with some exceptions, DUI not being one of them

It also could have been avoided if that person also didn’t drive drunk in the first place though.

A friend of kind dad was held until he sobered up, went home, got his wife’s car, went back to the bar and ended up with a second dui years ago.

The holding times have nothing to do with being sober or not. Its usually a hold until the pre-trial folks (basically mini-judges) can see you and set a bail.

You havent been convicted of a crime at that point so the whole holding period is always a bit controversial. Of course it can make sense when someone is drunk/high, but you could also imagine where a holding period is easily abused.

I do think it's kind of weird that they arrested and then released him rather than holding him in the drunk tank.

I had an uncle who got pulled over for DUI back in the late 80s/early 90s, he lied and told the cop his parents' house was like three doors down. So the cop sat and watched while he pulled into the driveway, and then he went and sat in this stranger's back yard for a couple minutes to make it seem like he went in the backdoor, then he got in the car and started driving back home. Same exact cop pulled him over again like a mile down the road. So he got a court date and 30 days in county.

I could totally see something like that happening still today, but if you're at the point where you're already arresting the guy, what's up with letting him go before he sobers up?

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Did no one actually READ this article?!?! How do you get your DUI for HITTING A PARKED CAR and still get to go home first of all - only to go back out and drive again?! 🤦🏼‍♀️🤬

But the first time was because he hit a parked car! That’s the definition of being a danger!

Believe it or not, because he hasn’t been convicted of the first DUI, the second DUI doesn’t count as a second offense for sentencing purposes. So, unless he has prior DUI convictions, he is not subject to the enhanced mandatory penalties and these would both be treated as first offenses with lighter minimum penalties.

Many departments have no holding cells. DUI, as a misdemeanor, is not a holding offense. Drunks, of course, can be sobered up before release as a matter of public safety (theirs and other's). Releasing to a sober relative or friend is considered due diligence, and less liability intensive as far as possible in-custody injury, illness, overdose, etc. Of course, drunks will be drunks...

Uhhh maybe the cops should get the guy an Uber ride home for $20 instead of smashing someone else's car (or a pedestrian or a cow or whatever)

I thought we had said we were cracking down on drinking and driving.

He got a free two for one.

Oh for sure, my friend was at fault. I was just pointing out that PA isn't the only state that does this.

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And this is why central PA politicians who have strong opinions on Krasner/crime in Philadelphia can go hump themselves.

That's not quite correct - once he is convicted of the first DUI, the second conviction is considered a second, regardless of whether the conviction happens in the same proceeding.

You are right though that while the charges are pending, they are both considered first offenses.

75 Pa.C.S. 3806 is the statute

Here's another pro tip for you speaking as a dispatcher... If you have the misfortune of getting a dui and have to call a "responsible party" to collect you... It is likely that person will have their license run before you leave. So make sure they don't have any outstanding warrants. Or a suspended license. Or no insurance. Or a trifecta.

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0.3-0.4 is fatal. so 0.6 means you're double dead.