State v. Rivera, 297 Neb. 709

At ~10:35 p.m. in a very dark Branched Oak Lake recreation area, two Nebraska Game and Parks conservation officers encountered two groups of people on opposite sides of a paved, unmarked road.
Officers parked a marked patrol vehicle at the right side of the road and one officer exited to investigate; the other officer remained in the patrol vehicle and called dispatch.
Jonathan Rivera approached in his vehicle, drove onto the grassy shoulder to the right of the patrol vehicle, and slowed; he stopped when he saw a uniformed officer walking toward his vehicle from the front of the patrol truck.
The officer did not activate lights/siren, draw or display his firearm, or otherwise physically block Rivera; testimony conflicted as to whether the officer made a hand gesture ordering Rivera to stop.
The officer asked Rivera to wait while he moved the patrol vehicle; during that brief interaction the officer observed bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech and asked about drinking; Rivera admitted drinking and was then detained, investigated, and arrested for DUI.
Rivera moved to suppress evidence from the stop; county court denied the motion applying the community caretaking exception; district court and Court of Appeals affirmed; Nebraska Supreme Court granted further review.

Issue	Rivera's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether the initial police-citizen encounter constituted a Fourth Amendment seizure	Rivera: Court of Appeals wrongly expanded community caretaking exception; encounter was a seizure requiring suppression	State: Officer’s actions fit community caretaking or, at minimum, created reasonable suspicion to detain after contact	Held: No seizure at commencement — Rivera voluntarily stopped; encounter was a consensual (first-tier) encounter that escalated to investigatory detention based on observed signs of impairment

State v. Rogers, 297 Neb. 265 (discusses tiers of police-citizen encounters and standard for seizure)
State v. Bakewell, 273 Neb. 372 (community caretaking exception must be narrowly and carefully applied)
State v. Hedgcock, 277 Neb. 805 (no seizure where officer merely approaches and does not use force or commands)
State v. Avey, 288 Neb. 233 (Fourth Amendment seizure requires showing that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave)
State v. Draganescu, 276 Neb. 448 (officer’s subjective intent is irrelevant to seizure analysis)
State v. Lee, 290 Neb. 601 (appellate review of suppression findings: no reweighing or credibility determinations)
State v. Kolbjornsen, 295 Neb. 231 (a correct result will not be reversed solely because the lower court relied on incorrect reasoning)