AND THE DOCTOR SPOKE

NZ Truth, Issue 1186, 23 August 1928, Page 2

AND THE DOCTOR SPOKE

Policemen Are Only Amateurs In Determining Insobriety (From "N.Z. Truth's" Palmerstpn North Representative.) Notwithstanding the fact that no fewer than five policemen were prepared to testify on oath that Leonard Melles was drunk and not fit to be m. charge of a car, Magistrate J. Stout, m the Palmerston North court last week, held otherwise.

THE fact that Dr. Douglas Home Bett considered the judgment of the police to be at fault, and that Melles, although m a very excited condition, was not intoxicated at the time of the medical examination went a long way towards the dismissal of the case. Melles, until, a fortnight ago, resided m Palmerston North where he is wellknown as a motor-garage proprietor and mechanic. On the eve of his departure for Masterton, where he proposed to set up business m the motor trade, he had a most unfortunate accident which resulted m. his car being put out of commission and a companion and himself making their appearance m the Magistrate's Court. Leonard emphatically denied the soft Impeachment when he was charged with being intoxicated, while the driver of a motor-car at Whakarongo on July 20. He admitted, however, that on that occasion he had not been m possession of the driver's license required by statute. This omission on his part made the State coffers thirty shillings the richer, after which the court proceeded. to the serious task of determining Melles' condition on the date of the accident. Lawyer Harold Cooper stood between the' men m blue and his client. From evidence tendered by Constable Phillips of Takapau, it appeared that he had been returning to his station, via Woodville, on the date m question, when he had noticed a car over the bank m the- vicinity of Whakarongo. Melles had been standing nearby with a small child, while further investigation disclosed , that there was yet another member present. In the ditch m which the car was resting, was another man playing "ducks" m the water. The constable stated (and was supported m his contention by the other witnesses) that this man was drunk — not just "ordinary" drunk but very, drunk. (Prior to Melles' appearance this man ..duly admitted his lapse and was fined the usual half sovereign). "Melles," -said the constable, "was swaying, smelt strongly of liquor and took no notice when I spoke to him. I saw he was not. fit to drive a car, so I rang up the police station, only to find that two constables were already on their way out." ..Continuing, the constable stated that while he • had been away at the 'phone, the swimming enthusiast had crawled out of the ditch and was lying asleep beside the car. Lawyer Cooper: There was no question of his being drowned, of course. /Witness: Oh, no, there was not suffi-cient-wrater to drown him. The Bench: But not enough to sober him! Lawyer Cooper: Did anybody stop to see what was wrong? — Yes, several people had a look, laughed, and .went away again. - Constable Eric Compton looked a fine figure of a policeman m the box, when he told the court his impressions of the scene. ''' The nose of the car, The said wag In the ditch, with the rear portion up, the >ank, ''while a man, whose name he lad afterwards ascertained to be Murphy, had been lying beside It, drunk! Melles had been lending his support to a telegraph pole and when asked what had happened, told witness to mind his own business. "Melles refused to get into the car," said the constable. "He said he was quite capable of looking after himself. In the end, we had to throw and; handcuff him m order to get him into the car." • Under fire from Lawyer Cooper, the -witness stated that he had been pres-' ent when the doctor examined defendant; at the police station. Melles -had then been m about the same condition as when he had been arrested. He had, perhaps; been a little, more steady on his feet. He had talked a great deal and referred to -loving his car and the wheels of his car. Constable Watt, who accompanied Officer Compton to the scene of activities, also stated that Melles was . drunk. Hd admitted to Counsel Cooper, however, that •he might have gone to Whakarongo expecting to find a drunken man. A fourth constable, who had seen Melles brought into the watchhouse, stated that defendant had seemed, at the time, to. have been under the influence of liquor. He admitted, however, that he had not taken a great deal of notice. Senior-sergeant Whitehouse was the final 'link m the chain of police evidence. He had seen Murphy t and Melles brought into the station - yard handcuffed. Murphy had been very drunk while Melles had been unsteady on his feet and "very truculent and overbearing m his manner.*' He had made repeated demands for various things, proclaiming, his ability to pay for all of them. !He had asked for a doctor, specifying Dr. Bett. As he had had sufficient money to pay- the fee, the medico had been summoned, and had carried out an examination. Melles had then asked for several other doctors, but as he had not the wherewithal to pay for all their services, his request had not been acceded to. • Lawyer. Cooper: The police, then, would not take it on themselves to ring up Dr. Barnett, whom Melles wanted, and see whether he knew the man and would give him "tick"? , The Senior- sergeant: The police doj not; do things on "tick," Mr. Cooper. I My experience of doctors has been that if they are asked to come to the station' and the prisoner has not sufficient money to pay for their services, they i hold the police responsible for their f 66 Lawyer Cooper: How about solicitors? The Senior-sergeant: We do not invite solicitors to the station, Mr. Cooper. After dealing with defendant's hitherto unblemished record, Lawyer Cooper stated that Melles had been j forced to bank his car m the ditch m order to avoid' another car coming m the opposite direction, and which | had been driving erratically. Melles had taken only two drinks | 'before leaving town, but he' had with him m the car, a man named Murphy, who had been undeniably "tight!" . Melles was accustomed to liquor and the two drinks he had would not have hurt him. He suggested that what the police had taken for drunkenness was nothing more than Melles' excitement as a result of the accident— .defendant was by nature, Very excitable. The only comment that Lawyer Cooper put upon the police, evidence was that the men In blue had been influenced m their judgment by the fact that they had been informed, prior to arrival that they would find a drunken man at the scene of the accident and

had sallied out to find such a spectacle real or Imaginary. The next witness to step into the box, was Dr. Douglas Home Bett, medical practitioner of Palmerston North. He stated that he had examined Melles at the police station on July 20, at about 4.15 p.m. "He was somewhat excited," said the doctor, "very talkative, and laboring under a strong sense of injury. He was perfectly coherent, however, and had full control of his muscular powers." "When I saw him, Melles was not by any means drunk," said the medico m response to a question. "Certainly he said that he had had some drinks, but he went through several tests that I gave him." Senior-sergeant Whitehouse: Did you not say that you would not care to drive m a car with Melles? Witness: Yes, I did say that, but I wish to qualify my statement, if I may. I would not care to drive m a car with any man who had had a few drinks. His judgment would not be normal m a tight corner. In the same way I would not care to be operated upon by a surgeon who had had a few drinks. To counsel Cooper, witness stated that he remembered Melles tell- / ing him that the gravel rash over one of his eyes had been caused by the rough handling of the constables. Frederick John Tasker and Kenneth McDonald, two motorists who had noticed the car m the ditch and had stopped to see what was wrong, were then questioned as to their impression of Melles' sobriety or otherwise. The first witness, who stated that he had once kept a public house, was of the opinion that Melles was sober when he spoke to him, before the police arrived. Kenneth McDonald stated that he had known Melles for some years past, and had never thought of him as a drinking man. On getting out of his car to investigate the accident, witness had seen a man lying near the car m ' the ditch, and had at first thought him injured by the accident. On picking him up, however, witness had formed a different opinion. The man was undeniably drunk. Melles then arrived and spoke to the drunken man by his Christian name. Melles, I said witness, appeared excited, but he never thought of him as being drunk. "The other man became very abusive," said witness, "waving his arms about, and although there were some ladies near, his language was not of the choicest. Melles took him by the shoulders and said: 'Come down to earth and sober up.' " Witness stated that, as Melles had told him that he had sent a message for assistance, he had then left him and continued on his journey. The defendant, Melles, showing the effect of his accident, by a scar on the brow, was the next witness to b. called by Mr.. Cooper. Witness -stated that he had been proceeding to Masterton on the date m question. Before leaving town, he had two whiskies-and-sodas m an hotel. These drinks had not affected him at all. He was not a drinking man and only took whisky occasionally. His small son was m the car and also an acquaintance named Murphy whom he had picked up prior to his departure. He knew that this man was drunk, and had taken him away to get him out of the way as much as anything. While, negotiating a bend near 1 the Whakarongo settlement, at about 25 m.p.h., he had been forced . to bank his car m order to avoid another car coming from Ashhurst and "driving all over the road." "When I realized that I had smashed up the car and that Murphy had made a scene," said witness, "I became so — — excited that I refused to get Into the car with the police. I am a very peaceable man .as a rule and I would not resist anybody, but f was excited at the time. "I was not drunk," concluded witness, emphatically. "This case Is hot quite clear," said Magistrate Stout, m pronouncing judgment. "Dr. Bett says that he tried several tests on defendant and that he • responded to them. ' He also - says that Melles had his full muscular powers. . "The great difficulty is to know just what a 'state of intoxication' means. At Home there is a similar position and there have been no fewer than four different decisions from the Appeal Court to those of a magistrate. ' "Some think that Intoxication varies as to whether the person is m a car or on foot, but I do not think that New .Zealand courts have gone as far as that yet. Personally, I think that It is reasonable to give a man as drunk m charge of a car when he would be drunk as a pedestrian. "The police say that Melles was drunk m this case while Dr. Bett says that he was not. "We must, I think, accept the medical evidence although I do not suggest that the police would bring wrong evidence. "But if they went out to the accident expecting to find a man drunk, they were n>ore likely to come to that conclusion on arrival. "This is a border-line case," concluded his worship. "I do not think that defendant was drunk enough to come within, the meaning of the Act, therefore I will give him the benefit ©f the doubt. "I have to take the doctor's evidence, but, at the same time, the police were quite right to bring the case forward."

Loved His Auto?

- „., _ _ (Jfl/fl 11/)/% I Ir/fIOC V m i/ IWV LJTUUX,* . '