On Scene with Undersheriff Jon L. Dearmore

Over the past several months, I have had several parents and community members ask about underage drinking in our county, and what happens to a kid that gets caught drinking. To address some of those questions and concerns lets take a closer look at the topic.

What is an MIP? What does MIP stand for? What happens to you if you get an MIP? All good questions! MIP stands for Minor In Possession (alcohol). In RCW 66.44.270 section 2 subsection (a) it states, it is unlawful for any person under the age of 21 years old to possess, consume, or otherwise acquire any liquor. A violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor.

I’ll walk you through a typical MIP call/investigation. The sheriff’s office receives a call that there is an MIP party on a logging road. Deputies gather as much information as possible and then go to the suspected area. Upon arrival the deputies observe six or seven vehicles and 10 or so people standing and sitting around a fire at a landing. Assuming that no one runs, deputies contact anyone that has a beer can, bottle or any other drinking vessel, and people that may be exhibiting signs of impairment. The cops identify themselves and ask the people around the fire if they are drinking and if they are 21 years old. For the sake of argument the first young person tells the cop “yeah, its beer, and I’m 17 years old.” The cops check the identification of the “suspect”; confirms that he is only 17 years old and asks him how much he has had to drink. The suspect then says, “only two” (standard answer) with a slight slur in his speech. The deputies ask the suspect to take a preliminary breath test (PBT), and the suspect agrees. The reading on the PBT is .06, confirming breath alcohol/consuming. Remember .08 is legally intoxicated in the State of Washington for driving under the influence (DUI) purposes, but .02 is DUI for someone under the age of 21 years old. The deputies then advise the suspect he is under arrest, handcuffs and searches him, then puts him in the back seat of a patrol car. Then the deputy goes to the next person to do the same process. If a deputy observes signs of drinking, like staggering, slurred speech, poor motor function, and a variety of others clues, or detects the odor of alcohol a PBT is not necessary, they can arrest on probable cause alone. We also try to figure out through the interview process who supplied or bought the alcohol that was there.

Everyone gets checked by a deputy at the scene, and we process each arrest. This requires us taking the suspects back to Cathlamet (Courthouse/Jail) and we go through the booking process. The booking process consists of data entry, fingerprinting and photographs. We do not house juveniles for any extended period of time. If we keep a juvenile we take them to Cowlitz County Juvenile Detention. The juvenile is kept in custody and they are then processed by Cowlitz County corrections officers, and we leave a probable cause statement with the jail articulating the facts for arrest and detention. A judge reviews the probable cause statement and determines that we did or did not have probable cause. We typically book and release the juvenile offender to a parent or guardian. The juvenile (depending on their age) receives a criminal citation that has a court date and time and they must appear or a bench warrant is issued. The other method we use is called a juvenile referral filing (police report, photos, etc.) to the prosecuting attorneys office for charging. The prosecutors office then summons the juvenile into court by letter.

This scenario does not cover an underage driving offense (DUI), underage drinking on private property (residence), narcotic usage/impairment, or the justice/legal system's process and penalties.

If you have unanswered questions or need clarification on MIP or underage drinking, I strongly encourage you to attend the Town Hall II meeting regarding underage drinking, on Tuesday March 25, 2008 between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., at the multi-purpose room at JA Wendt Elementary School.