People v. Ray

Opinion

BROWN, J.

In the average day, police officers perform a broad range of duties, from typical law enforcement activities—investigating crimes, pursuing suspected felons, issuing traffic citations—to “community caretaking functions”—helping stranded motorists, returning lost children to anxious parents, assisting and protecting citizens in need—“totally divorced from the detection, investigation, or acquisition of evidence relating to the violation of a criminal statute.” (Cady v. Dombrowski (1973) 413 U.S. 433, 441 [93 S.Ct. 2523, 2528, 37 L.Ed.2d 706].) When performing their law…