bg81

Hello everyone.

I have seriously curbed my drinking over the past year. I am 30 and have been drinking since my teenage years. I have a good career and a decent life but I can't think of any good alcohol has done in my life.

I have a specific question and I hope some of you have some experience with it. This past weekend I went out drinking with an old drinking buddy. Needless to say, we got really drunk and somehow got seperated and I ended up blacking out, though there are several things I remember. One of those things was being questioned by police. I was basically falling down drunk and I'm sure they could have arrested me, but I didn't end up in jail. I don't even really remember the context of our conversation or the location of where I was, though I think it was a gas station across town. I wasn't driving and i estimate I must have taken a cab there.

Anyway, my concern is that I may have gotten a ticket for public intoxication. Do you know if they would have written me a ticket and let me go? I have no record of a ticket but am concerned I may have lost it. I ended up talking some complete strangers into giving me a ride home, so I know the police didn't drive me home.

Now my mind is running wild with what might have occurred. Any comments you might have are greatly appreciated. I hate booze and i am through with it.

Thanks

Dee74

Hi bg

I'm not an American so I have no idea how they work things there...I wanted to welcome you tho...

sounds to me like you could do without these kinds of complications in your life tho?

D

desertsong

Can you call the police involved and ask if they wrote you up? That's really the only thing I can think of if you didn't have a ticket on you. At least you didn't wake up in jail.

In any event, sounds like a pretty good wakeup call, don't ya think?

bg81

I have tried that, but the issue is that this is in a major city, and since I don't know where I was, there are multiple precints it could have been.

This is so embarassing .... What would my bosses or customers think if they knew this was how I chose to behave in my free time ?

Justfor1

I can relate to this issue a lot. I use to go on 3-4day alcohol/cocaine benders taking public transportation in Chicago & frequently woke up with Drinking On Public Way tickets or Drinking on the CTA. Had a few public urination tickets also.They were similar to parking tickets & I never paid them & still owe on them. My advise is to maybe walk into the police station & ask them to look it up. Don't worry, because if you had done something serious you would of woken up in a jail cell with charges.

sugarbear1

You may be in a data base, couldn't hurt to call the non-emergency number!

jojoba

We really need to know whether this incident happened in the UK or America, Ireland, New Zealand, Capetown, etc. before we can proceed with giving legal advice. In some places public intoxication is legal.

Or maybe it has nothing to do with public intoxication. Perhaps they were looking for someone who crashed his or her car into a nearby shop and then fled the scene, and after speaking to you they determined that you weren't the one they were looking for, and that's why you weren't arrested and you now have no ticket in your possession, but since you can't recall anything now, you don't in fact know that you were not charged with a crime.

suki44883

Regardless of where it occurred, we cannot give legal advice. If you were given a citation, there would be record of it in the database, and different precincts more than likely share databases. I agree that a phone call to the non-emergency number might satisfy your curiosity.

JustARide

It would seem kind of irresponsible to me for police to ticket a drunken man for public intoxication and send him on his way expecting it to be paid. I always assumed if a person was fined for public intoxication that it was after being arrested. But I might assume wrongly, so I'm not sure.

But on the bright side, you woke up in your bed and not a jail cell, so I imagine the worst is over.

jojoba

Unless there is a warrant out for him.

JustARide

If there was a warrant out for him, wouldn't they have arrested him instead of letting him go?

Zebra1275

I'm not a lawyer, but here's my logical (?) opinion.

I suspect that they didn't write you a ticket. If they had they would have pinned it to your shirt or something, because they know you would probably lose it otherwise.

If you did get a ticket, and you don't pay it, they will probably send a letter to your house (they would have your address if they gave you a ticket) telling you that your fine has an additional penalty tacked on for failure to pay. At they point you can pay it, case closed. The letter may also sat that if you don't pay the fine, it will double or something in another 30 days. If you keep blowing them off, eventually you might be asked to appear in court.

You live in a major city, this is a minor offense (you'd be in jail if it wasn't), you probably didn't get a ticket.

Now, about that AA meeting you've been meaning to attend . . .

CarolD

I too was a blackout drinker who had all sorts of incidents and got
into dangerous situations in a city.
The good news is...once I quit...the blackouts immediately ceased
I'm sure glad you are heading into a better sober future...

Welcome to SR....

Ok...had that happened to me....I would go to my local police
station and ask to speak to an officer
Explain you are concerned that you might have lost a citation
and that you are sorry....want to clear up any fine..

Just my take on the situation.

hardboiled

Oh man, I can definitely relate to this. I would also try calling the police (not 911 or emergency) and see if they have a record. Be prepared to wait as I'm sure it will not be a high priority for them but it'll be worth it to avoid potentially bigger problems.
You should also check up on what your local laws are regarding drunken citations. Where I used to live things like public intox, urination, open container etc. meant a trip to court. Anyone who for whatever reason did not present themselves would have a warrant put out for thier arrest. Doubt the cops would make an effort to track you down but know if you tried to travel or got in trouble for something else and they saw your outstanding warrant it wouldn't be good. Now they changed the laws because too many drunks were flooding the court so now you can just mail in a fine but not every city may have the same laws.

Justfor1

hardboiled, I think your right when it comes to small cities or suburban cities. That a court date would of been issued. But in the big cities Chicago, NewYork, LosAngeles, Miami ect..... there is way too much crime to handle these drunken escapades.

eJoshua

Yep.

I remember once waking up in an ER after being out all night drinking. I remember being dragged out of a bar and making a big scene and the cops being called, but that's about it. I turned to the attending nurse and asked her if I'd been charged with anything and I'll never forget what she told me:

"Nope. Honey, if you were charged with anything you'd be handcuffed to your bed."

Ghostly

To the original question - Yes, you could have been given a citation for this and released. Possibly, you were given your copy (which you lost) and were sent on your way. If the police determined you were drunk, but not so intoxicated you needed to be taken to a detox facility, this is possible. You will need to contact the police, or courts, to find out if you have an upcoming court date.

If you were given a citation, and fail to appear (or pay the fine) a warrant could be issued. However, in most areas (if not all) they will mail you something before it goes to a warrant.

Anyway...not legal advice, just summarizing how it works in many areas. I'd say, if you have no copy of a citation, and no memory of being cited...probably didn't happen, but worth looking into if you're worried about it.

Getting a handle on your drinking sooner then later may stop this from happening again. Good luck.

instant

I assume on weekends the police have better things to do than paperwork on every drunk they come in contact with. Assuming you were reasonably well presented and not aggressive they might have just been concerned for your welfare, and sent you on your way, after some helpful advice.

You know it's not a good day when.....................

alcoquit

I woke up in ER few weeks ago. The nurse said the ambulance brought me there. I was totally out, I hope the police didn't give me anything. Also my address on the identification card was wrong so I've been checking up on this friend who is living in my old apartment for any ambulance bill. I'm crossing my fingers I won't get anything from the police. According to the nurse my head had hit concrete and I was on the floor. I'm in Canada

Challenged1

I agree with Ghostly. In Ca., if you get a drunk in public you would be cited and released with a citation to appear in court. This would entail a trip to the police station and blood alcohol level test. Probably a 2-4 hr hold until they feel you are coherent enough to go home. You may want to double check or google the laws in your state.
Wishing you all the best with your sobriety.