The City of Sunnyvale City , defendant below, petitions for a writ of mandate, Code of Civil Procedure section c, subdivision [ Cal. The issue is whether police officers employed by City who had stopped an automobile in which plaintiff was a passenger can be liable in tort to plaintiff for not advising her to get out of the car and find other transportation.
The undisputed facts are as follows: on August 16, , about a. Codefendant Randy Corbitt was then driving; he was over the age of 21, and licensed. There were containers of liquor in the vehicle, some opened. The police administered field sobriety tests to Corbitt and Shinall a minor and poured out the liquor in the opened containers; they cited Corbitt for driving at an unsafe speed and for driving with an opened container in the vehicle, and cited Shinall for being a minor in possession of alcohol.
They then released the parties, who continued driving. Later, at about a. According to their depositions, both Corbitt and Shinall had been drinking alcoholic beverages and had taken controlled substances before the car stop. Blood tests taken after the accident showed blood-alcohol levels of 0. Shinall's blood also contained methamphetamine and amphetamine. It is undisputed that during the time between their release from the roadside detention and the accident, Corbitt and Shinall continued to consume alcohol.
In her declaration, Miss Ragan said that after the detention she was directed by one of the officers to get back in the vehicle. She further declared she had no fear for her safety in reentering the vehicle because the officers did not arrest Corbitt or Shinall nor express any concern that they were under the influence and unable to drive safely.
She relied on the officers' judgment regarding whether either of these individuals could drive safely. Otherwise she would have called her mother to pick her up, as they had arranged should she need help in such a situation.
