delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶1 Rosina Spaulding pleaded guilty in the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court, Carbon County, to misdemeanor DUI per se-i.e., driving or being in actual physical control of a noncommercial vehicle upon the ways of this state open to the public while the person’s alcohol concentration, as shown by analysis of the person’s blood, breath, or urine, is 0.08 or more. Section 61-8-406(l)(a), MCA. Spaulding reserved the right to appeal the District Court’s denial of her motion to suppress. We affirm.
¶2 The parties raise two issues on appeal:
1. Was Spaulding subject to a seizure?
2. Did the community caretaker doctrine apply on the facts presented here?
BACKGROUND
¶3 At approximately 1:25 a.m. on January 10, 2010, Deputy Jonathan Croft of the Carbon County Sheriffs Office was driving a marked patrol vehicle (a 2009 Chevy pickup) westbound on SelmesBridger Road between Bridger and Roberts, Montana. This is a dirt and gravel ‘back road” through a remote and sparsely populated area. There are few homes along the road and no businesses, other than the county salvage yard. There is very little traffic on the road during the wintertime, particularly at night. It was cold at the time-the wind was blowing and the temperature was in the 20s. Croft was officially on *447 duty and wearing the uniform of a Carbon County Sheriff s Deputy.
¶4 As he was traveling along Selmes-Bridger Road, Croft observed the taillights of another vehicle roughly a quarter mile in front of him. The other vehicle was traveling somewhat slower than Croft’s vehicle. When Croft was within about 200 yards of the vehicle, the driver (Spaulding) activated her turn signal, moved to the side of the road, and came to a complete stop. She did so abruptly, not gradually, and Croft found the sudden stop to be unusual. In his experience, a driver on a county road will slow down and move over to the side to allow a faster moving vehicle, coming up from behind, to pass. He acknowledged that moving over to allow faster traffic to pass might have been a reasonable explanation for Spaulding’s conduct, had he been closer to her vehicle at that point. But he did not recall having ever seen a vehicle pull over so abruptly and come to a complete stop when the overtaking vehicle was still 200 yards behind.
¶5 Croft had previously observed vehicles abruptly pull off to the side of the road due to a flat tire or engine troubles. Thus, he considered the possibility that the driver of the vehicle here might be experiencing mechanical difficulties and be in need of assistance. He also had encountered lost motorists in this area on prior occasions. In this regard, the vehicle’s license plates indicated that it was from Stillwater County. Thus, because it appeared the vehicle was being driven by an out-of-area driver, using a road that is fin the middle of nowhere” and is “not a very well-travelled road,” Croft considered the possibility that the driver was lost. He noted that the nearest residence was between a half mile and one mile behind, and the next residence was two miles ahead. Croft was unsure whether the driver might be trying to establish contact with him.
¶6 Croft slowed and pulled in behind Spaulding’s vehicle. The State concedes that he had no particularized suspicion or reasonable grounds for an investigatory stop, as he had observed no erratic driving or traffic offenses, and he had no suspicion of any potential crime.
See Brown v. State,
¶7 Croft’s vehicle had a front light bar across the top of the windshield, a grill light, and wig-wag lights in the headlights. There was also a rear light bar across the top of the rear windshield, which flashed red and blue lights, plus two alley lights on each side of the vehicle. During a normal traffic stop, Croft activates all of the emergency lights, which has the effect of automatically activating a camera in his vehicle and a microphone that he wears on his person. In this instance, as he pulled up behind Spaulding’s vehicle, Croft activated only his overhead rear lights. He did not activate any of the other lights or the recording devices and did not inform dispatch that he was conducting a traffic stop. He was not planning to issue a citation. Croft’s purpose was to Tc]heck to see if they were okay, if they needed anything. I would get them whatever they needed and if they didn’t need anything, I was going on my way.”
¶8 Croft made contact with Spaulding and explained who he was. He asked her if everything was okay, and Spaulding responded, ‘Yes. We’re fine. Thank you.” Croft could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle. Spaulding concedes that after Croft made contact with her, he developed particularized suspicion to conduct a DUI investigation. Ultimately, Spaulding was charged with DUI. The issue in this case is whether Croft had a valid basis for making the initial welfare check under the community caretaker doctrine.
¶9 Spaulding appeared in Carbon County Justice Court and filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of Croft’s DUI investigation, on the ground that he lacked particularized suspicion to stop her and, thus, she had been unlawfully seized. Spaulding argued that the community caretaker doctrine did not apply. The Justice Court granted the motion. The State then appealed to the District Court de novo. The parties re-briefed the suppression issue. Following an evidentiary hearing, the District Court issued its findings facts and conclusions of law.
¶10 Given the circumstances existing at the time of the stop, the District Court found that Deputy Croft had objective, specific, and *449 articulable facts to justify a concern that the occupants of the car may be in need of assistance. The court observed that the car had pulled over abruptly on a desolate rural road at 1:25 a.m. on a cold January day. As a law enforcement officer, Croft had previously observed vehicles pull over in the same abrupt manner due to engine trouble or a flat tire. Moreover, Croft had previously encountered lost motorists on remote county roads in this area. The weather was below freezing, there were no homes in the immediate vicinity, and this particular county road has very little traffic in the early morning hours of a winter day. A stranded motorist, therefore, could be in a potentially perilous situation without ready access to assistance. Considering the time, the weather, and the remote location, the District Court found that Croft reasonably believed the conditions were potentially harmful to anyone stranded in the area.
¶11 Furthermore, the court observed that because it was too dark to make any observations through the window of his patrol car, Croft pulled in behind the stationary vehicle with the purpose of inquiring as to the occupants’ well-being. And Croft did, in fact, inquire into Spaulding’s welfare. If required, he was prepared to render assistance; if not, he was prepared to resume his patrol. The District Court noted that Croft’s patrol vehicle was equipped with various emergency lights and that Croft routinely activated all of those lights when making a traffic stop. Here, however, he activated only his rear emergency lights, and the court found that Croft did so to warn any approaching motorists. The court observed that Croft activated neither his video recording device nor his audio recording device (which must be done manually when not all of the emergency lights are activated).
¶12 In light of the foregoing, and based on this Court’s community caretaker caselaw, the District Court concluded that Croft took appropriate action based on articulable facts to ensure that Spaulding would have assistance if she needed it, and that his actions were consistent with a welfare check, not a traffic stop. The court stated that his actions ‘fit squarely within the ambit of the community caretaker doctrine” and, thus, did not amount to an unlawful seizure. Accordingly, the District Court denied the motion to suppress. Spaulding now appeals.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶13 We review a district court’s ruling on a motion to suppress to determine whether the court’s findings of fact are clearly erroneous and whether the court correctly interpreted and applied the law to
*450
those findings.
State v. Hafner,
DISCUSSION
¶14 Issue 1. Was Spaulding subject to a seizure?
¶15 The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution protect individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrantless searches and seizures are per se unreasonable absent a few carefully drawn exceptions.
Lewis,
¶ 21;
State v. Graham,
¶16 As an initial matter, the State contends that a welfare check conducted under the community caretaker doctrine is not a seizure. We have suggested as much in some of our cases.
See e.g. State v. Lovegren,
¶17 In analyzing whether a seizure has occurred, a number of courts and jurists have criticized the “reasonable person”/“free to leave”
*451
standard articulated in
Mendenhall.
1
One of the difficulties in inquiring whether a reasonable person would feel free to leave is that there is already a level of pressure or coercion to stay when an officer approaches and begins questioning.
See People v. Castigilia,
the hypothetical ‘Reasonable person” carries a heavy, and at times perhaps even an intellectually debatable undue burden, in ensuring his or her individual liberties. In interpreting the scope of the Fourth Amendment, courts appear to have steadily increased expectations that the ‘Reasonable person” is one who not only knows the full extent of his rights, but zealously protects them to the point that he will not hesitate to confront authority and demand the return of identification so that he may effect his right to walk away. Accordingly, one may reasonably inquire whether the ‘Reasonable person” standard has in reality become the ‘Reasonable person trained in the law” standard. Indeed, if reasonable members of the public were asked whether they believed that they could terminate an encounter with a law *452 enforcement officer by simply insisting that the officer return their license or identification, we suggest most would respond in the negative. It is not unreasonable to think that only those versed in search and seizure law may fully understand that the ability of an officer to conduct an identification check is totally contingent upon the civilian’s consent to the encounter where no reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing exists.
Golphin v. State,
¶18 Yet, while there are legitimate criticisms of
Mendenhall’s
definition of “seizure,” and while we believe the
Golphin
court’s observations reflect reality, we need not resolve in the present context whether
Murray
or some other approach would be preferable. The community caretaker doctrine is operative where law enforcement initiates contact with a citizen, not to investigate the commission of a crime, but to investigate a potential vehicle accident or otherwise to ensure the safety of citizens.
Graham,
¶ 25;
Seaman,
¶ 15. In the usual case, a welfare check by its very nature necessarily involves a brief seizure-but a seizure nonetheless4n order for the officer to ascertain whether the citizen needs assistance or is in peril.
3
Cf. Terry v. Ohio,
¶19 There may be fact-specific situations in which a welfare check does not involve a seizure. 4 The present case, however, is not one of them. When Deputy Croft activated his overhead rear emergency lights, pulled in behind Spaulding’s vehicle, and made contact with her, she was temporarily “seized” while Croft inquired as to her and her passengers’ well-being. The critical question in these sorts of cases is whether the warrantless seizure was constitutionally “reasonable” because it met the criteria of the community caretaker doctrine-the question to which we now turn.
¶20 Issue 2. Did the community caretaker doctrine apply on the facts presented?
¶21 ‘We use the following test to determine if the community caretaker exception to the warrant requirement applies in an encounter between government officials and citizens.” Graham, ¶ 25. First, as long as there are objective, specific, and articulable facts from which an experienced 5 officer would suspect that a citizen is in need of *454 help or is in peril, then that officer has the right to stop and investigate. Second, if the citizen is in need of aid, then the officer may take appropriate action to render assistance or mitigate the peril. Third, once, however, the officer is assured that the citizen is not in peril or is no longer in need of assistance or that the peril has been mitigated, then any actions beyond that constitute a seizure which must be justified by something other than the community caretaker doctrine, such as particularized suspicion or probable cause. See Lovegren, ¶ 25; Graham, ¶ 25. The issue in this case concerns the first prong of this test-i.e., whether there were objective, specific, and articulable facts from which Deputy Croft could suspect that a citizen was in need of help or was in peril. Spaulding presents several arguments in this regard.
¶22 First, Spaulding argues that Croft’s stop fails to meet the first prong of the test because the stop was not “wholly unrelated to” or “totally divorced from” the detection and investigation of crime. She quotes this language from two observations made in our
Lovegren
decision: first, that ‘“[ejncounters are initiated by the police for a wide variety of purposes, some of which are
wholly unrelated to
a desire to prosecute for crime,’
’’Lovegren,
¶ 16 (emphasis added) (quoting
Terry,
¶23 We reject this argument on both the facts and the law. For starters, throughout Spaulding’s briefs on appeal, appellate counsel repeatedly mischaracterizes and distorts Croft’s testimony, claiming that he “admitted he had a dual purpose in stopping and investigating Ms. Spaulding.” Croft did not testify that he stopped to investigate whether the occupants of the vehicle were committing a burglary or were involved in some other criminal activity. What he said was that he stopped to conduct a welfare check, given the weather, the time of day, the location, and the unusual manner in which the vehicle had pulled over. Then, as he approached the vehicle, Croft considered the possibility that the occupants might be dangerous or have weapons. As Croft specifically testified, his knowledge that there had been some burglaries in the area played no part whatsoever in his decision to stop. Rather, this knowledge was one of his concerns as he approached the vehicle, because “[a]ny time I make an approach, there are hundreds of things that are going through my mind that I’ve been trained to observe and look for.” Indeed, we acknowledge, what should be obvious, that a law enforcement officer, by training, will approach a stopped vehicle cognizant and alert to the fact that the occupants may be armed and dangerous, and that the officer’s wariness will vary depending on the facts and circumstances of each stop. Accordingly, the contention that Croft “considered [the burglaries in the area]
before
he stopped Ms. Spaulding” (emphasis added) and admitted to having a “dual purpose” in making the stop is inaccurate. The District Court, whose province it was to assess Croft’s demeanor and credibility,
State v. Whiteman,
¶24 More fundamentally, the requirements of the community caretaker doctrine are set out at ¶ 25 of
Lovegren,
and there is no requirement that the officer’s subjective purpose be solely and exclusively to conduct a welfare check. For that matter, in the same way that it is impractical to analyze a defendant’s belief about whether she was free to leave, it is likewise impractical to assess the officer’s subjective reasons for stopping and making contact with the defendant. It is true that the community caretaker doctrine cannot be used as a pretext for an illegal search and seizure.
Lovegren,
¶ 23. For this reason, we require that a welfare check be based on objective,
*456
specific, and articulable facts from which an officer would suspect that a citizen is in need of help or is in peril,
Lovegren,
¶ 25, and that the stop actually involve a welfare check,
see e.g. Graham,
¶¶ 30-31 (the officer’s admitted purpose was not to conduct a welfare check, but rather to “move [the defendant] along”);
State v. Reiner,
¶25 In the present case, there were objective, specific, and articulable facts from which an officer would suspect that a citizen was in peril or in need of help. The vehicle pulled over abruptly, while Croft was still 200 yards away. In Croft’s experience, this indicated that the driver might have a flat tire or car troubles. They were on a back road in a desolate area, out fin the middle of nowhere,” and the road was ‘hot a very well-travelled road.” Moreover, the vehicle had out-of-area license plates, all of which indicated that the driver could be lost. It was 1:25 a.m. on a January morning. It was dark, the wind was blowing, and the temperature was below freezing. There were no homes in the immediate vicinity, and a stranded motorist would be in a potentially perilous situation. In these circumstances, it arguably would have been a dereliction of duty for Croft not to stop. Seaman, ¶ 15 (“Assisting a motorist in peril or in apparent need of aid is often viewed as an affirmative duty of the police and ... it would be a dereliction of an officer’s duty to walk away from an uncertain situation in which a motorist may be in need of help.”). Croft did stop, activated only his rear emergency lights, made contact with Spaulding, and inquired as to her well-being.
¶26 Spaulding makes much of the fact that Croft activated his lights, as though this elevated the stop to something more than a welfare check. We disagree. It was necessary and prudent for Croft to activate his overhead rear emergency lights for multiple reasons. Most obviously, it alerted any motorist who might approach from behind to slow down and pass with care. In this way, the lights served a safety purpose and protected Croft, Spaulding, her passengers, and any passing motorist from injury. In addition, the lights, which Spaulding *457 admittedly could see, provided some assurance that the approaching person was actually a law enforcement officer and not an imposter. Again, for Croft to have left his rear emergency lights off arguably would have been a dereliction of duty. The fact that he activated them did not, in itself, convert the situation from a community caretaker stop into an investigative stop. Indeed, that he turned on only his rear lights is evidence that this was in fact merely a welfare check, and not a full-blown traffic stop.
¶27 Next, Spaulding contends that Croft’s stop fails to satisfy the first prong of the community caretaker test because, besides stopping to investigate whether the occupants of the vehicle were committing burglaries or other crimes (which is not actually why he stopped, as just discussed), Croft’s only other motivation was ‘his ‘extreme’ practice of stopping and investigating everyone he sees who has pulled over and stopped on the side of a road.” This is a reference to Croft’s testimony in the District Court that he “always check[s] on a vehicle that pulls to the side of the road.” Croft testified that he believes law enforcement is a community service profession and that much of his communication with the public is not premised upon the suspicion of or investigation of a crime. As a law enforcement officer, Croft stated that he has an obligation to provide aid to motorists that need assistance. To that end, Croft had a policy-which he acknowledged “might sound extreme”-ef checking on any vehicle parked on the side of a road "under any circumstances,” even if there is no evidence of wrongdoing, peril, or distress. Notably, the District Court questioned Croft about this practice and applauded his commitment to help people, but cautioned him that making a stop at every single vehicle pulled off to the side of the road might not comply with constitutional protections against unreasonable governmental interference. The District Court pointed out, correctly, that community caretaker stops ‘turn on the facts of each case” and require “objective, specific, and articulable facts” from which an officer would suspect that a citizen is in need of help or is in peril. We agree with the District Court’s admonishment. Yet, while Spaulding opines that Croft’s stop in her case was based on nothing more than his policy, the record belies this contention. The facts cited by Croft were objective, specific, and articulable facts indicating that the occupants of the vehicle that had pulled over in front of him needed help or were in peril.
¶28 Lastly, Spaulding attempts to distinguish the present case from our decisions in
Lovegren, Nelson, Seaman, State v. Litschauer,
¶29 Each community caretaker case turns on its discrete facts. That a particular case is not, factually, a cookie-cutter copy of another simply proves this point. Given the foregoing factual circumstances of the present case, which are a quintessential example of a situation to which the community caretaker doctrine applies, we hold that Croft was fully justified in conducting a welfare check.
CONCLUSION
¶30 The District Court correctly denied Spaulding’s motion to suppress.
¶31 Affirmed.
Notes
See e.g. Murray,
¶ 28 (McGrath, C.J., & Nelson, J., specially concurring) (characterizing the standard as ‘impractical and unrealistic”);
United States v. Notorianni,
See also People v. Melton, 910
P.2d 672, 676 (Colo. 1996) (noting that “citizens may feel an inherent social pressure to cooperate with the police’);
State v. Daniel,
Given our holding here, we take this opportunity to reconcile our nonconforming jurisprudence. See e.g. Lovegren, ¶¶ 16,24-25; Seaman, ¶¶ 27,30; Wilkins, ¶¶ 6,11-14.
For example, where the officer stops to make a welfare check on a car parked alongside the highway, but no one is in the car because the driver has left to get gas, there has been no seizure. But, if the officer observes contraband in plain view on the floorboard, this might give rise to particularized suspicion or probable cause to seize the car and its driver upon her return.
Consistent with our decision in
Brown v. State,