Cook, Dennis Ray, PD-1650-14

Dennis R. Cook was found intoxicated and lying on a sidewalk near Dan Law Field during a Texas Tech home football game; officer smelled alcohol, observed slurred speech, bloodshot/watery eyes, facial injuries, and that Cook was unsteady when assisted to his feet.
Officer David Babcock arrested Cook for public intoxication, testifying Cook could have walked into the street or been struck by vehicles or buses given heavy event-related foot and vehicular traffic.
Cook moved to suppress the arrest for lack of probable cause; the trial court denied the motion and a jury convicted Cook of public intoxication and fined him $50.
On appeal to the Seventh Court of Appeals (Amarillo), Cook argued the officer’s mere speculation about future danger could not satisfy the statute’s required endangerment element, and that Cook was not in an inherently dangerous setting nor extremely intoxicated.
The court of appeals affirmed, applying the totality of the circumstances and deferring to the trial court’s credibility determinations that supported a finding of probable cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Cook)	Held
Whether officer speculation that the intoxicated person "may" endanger self/others can satisfy the Penal Code §49.02 endangerment element for probable cause	The officer’s reasonable conclusion that Cook might enter the street or be struck by vehicles in the crowded game-area satisfies the statute under a totality-of-the-circumstances/probable-cause test	Speculation about future harm cannot substitute for actual or imminent danger; Cook was on a sidewalk (not in street), coherent, and not extremely intoxicated—no probable cause	Court affirmed denial of suppression: under totality of circumstances and deference to trial court credibility, officer had probable cause because Cook’s intoxication plus nearby heavy foot/vehicle traffic presented a potential danger

State v. Woodard, 341 S.W.3d 404 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (public-intoxication statute requires that intoxication place person or others in danger)
Davis v. State, 576 S.W.2d 378 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979) (no probable cause where intoxicated person’s mere potential to wander into traffic was insufficient absent more)
Britton v. State, 578 S.W.2d 685 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979) (probable cause upheld where intoxicated defendant was in a setting creating immediate danger)
Dickey v. State, 552 S.W.2d 467 (Tex. Crim. App. 1977) (probable cause where defendant was passed out in a car on the street)
Bentley v. State, 535 S.W.2d 651 (Tex. Crim. App. 1976) (probable cause where intoxicated defendant was in a setting creating risk of harm)
Balli v. State, 530 S.W.2d 123 (Tex. Crim. App. 1975) (probable cause where defendant was walking down the middle of a street while intoxicated)