One Arrested, Imaginary Friend Still at Large

Friday, April 16, 2004, 1:06 a.m. – Officers driving north on El Embarcadero noticed a 21-year-old female staggering from side to side. After observing her lose her balance and fall down, the officers made a U-turn in their patrol car to contact her.

The woman was sitting on the grass where she had fallen. She greeted the deputy with a hello, and asked him if he was Officer “Freety.” The officer told her he was not the one she calls “Freety,” and proceeded to ask her where she was going. She pointed north and said she was headed to her home on Madrid Road.

When asked how much she had to drink, the woman said she only consumed one glass of wine. However, the woman then began talking incessantly about a variety of topics, never finishing a complete thought. While she was speaking, the officer noted she displayed a wide variety of emotions, including anger, happiness and sadness. She got so sad at one point that she began to cry, but she held fast to her claim of consuming only one glass of wine.

The woman asked if she could speak to her friend – a request the officer granted. She then walked to the passenger side of the officer’s patrol car, leaned into the window, and began speaking to the nonentity that was not occupying the seat. After completing one sentence, she realized the patrol car was vacant and said it was “scandalous” that her friend was not inside.

Judging by her apparent disorientation and hallucinations, the officer determined the woman was under the influence of alcohol and arrested her for public intoxication. En route to Santa Barbara County Jail, she continued repeating herself and displaying the aforementioned emotions. She was housed, pending sobriety.

Odor Radius of Inebriation

Saturday, April 17, 2004, 1:03 a.m. – A 19-year-old woman swerving about 15 feet into the roadway as she walked drew the ire of officers patrolling the 6600 block of Sabado Tarde Road. As officers watched, the woman bounced off several parked cars. However, the impacts did not impede her forward progress.

Based on the moderate flow of vehicle traffic on the street, officers determined there was a reasonable chance the woman could be struck by a car. Upon contacting her, the woman was slow to answer questions, but she was able to slur that she was heading home because she had too much to drink.

Despite his seasonal allergies, the officer noted he could still smell alcohol emitting from her body. Another officer – with a sense of smell unrestricted by a stuffy nose – detected a strong odor of alcohol on the woman’s body from approximately 10 feet away.

As the woman was handcuffed and led to a police vehicle, she leaned heavily on the officers to avoid falling down.

She was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was housed pending sobriety.

Fenced In

Sunday, April 18, 2004, 12:50 a.m. – Officers patrolling the 6600 block of Sabado Tarde Road observed an 18-year-old woman walking alone down the middle of the street and talking on her cell phone. She was swaying from side to side as she told whoever it was on the line that she was lost and did not know where she was going.

Based on her statements, eavesdropping officers determined the woman was probably unable to care for her own safety and they attempted to contact her. As the woman was walking away, she attempted to step over a curb, but did not lift her foot high enough, resulting in a trip and near fall. However, she continued stumbling until reaching a chain-link fence, which she attempted to walk through. The fence’s small, diamond-shaped openings proved insufficiently large during three such attempts before officers detained her.

Officers noted the woman gave off a strong odor of alcohol. She told officers she did not know where she was going or where she lived, but she admitted to consuming alcohol. However, she would not say what type she had had or how much of it.

The woman was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was housed pending sobriety.