Arnold v. State

659 S.W.2d 45, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4248
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 14, 1983
DocketA14-81-480CR
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 659 S.W.2d 45 (Arnold v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arnold v. State, 659 S.W.2d 45, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4248 (Tex. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION

DRAUGHN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a conviction of aggravated assault on a police officer. Upon trial by jury, appellant was found guilty of the offense. Punishment was assessed at five years imprisonment in the Texas Department of Corrections. We affirm the conviction.

Because the sufficiency of the evidence is being challenged, a brief rendition of the facts that led to appellant’s conviction is necessary. On January 27,1980, two Houston police officers, J.W. Clampitte and Gerry M. Broussard, were driving down a street in Bellaire on their way to investigate a crime. The officers were in an unmarked police vehicle with Louisiana license plates. Neither officer was in uniform. The police officers passed appellant, who thereafter proceeded to follow them. Officer Clampitte, hereinafter referred to as complainant, made a U-turn to see whether the appellant was in fact following them. Appellant proceeded to make a U-turn. Complainant pulled over to the side of the road. Appellant pulled over alongside com *47 plainant and stopped in the middle lane. Appellant got out of his car first, and then the complainant got out of his car. Complainant said, “What could I do for you?” According to complainant, appellant began cursing and screaming at him to get out of his town. Complainant testified that he said, “Hey hold it, we are police officers” before any physical contact had occurred between them. Appellant then grabbed at complainant’s face and tried to dislodge his glasses. Complainant showed him his badge at a distance of two to three feet away. Complainant took his glasses off, whereupon he received numerous blows in the face. Complainant kicked the appellant, and by this time Officer Broussard had come to complainant’s aid. Both officers forced appellant to the ground. Complainant hit the appellant over the head with his gun, whereupon appellant said that he quit.

Officer Broussard, who himself sustained minor injuries, testified that he did not hear complainant identify himself to appellant as a police officer. Broussard did say, however, that he saw complainant open his coat from behind as though he were showing his badge. Several eye witnesses testified that the appellant was getting the best of the fight until complainant hit him on the head with his gun. Officer Broussard handcuffed appellant, called the dispatcher and requested that the Bellaire Police Department be called. Shortly thereafter, the Bel-laire Police arrived. The investigation was then turned over to Officer Zamora of Bel-laire. An ambulance took appellant to Bel-laire Hospital.

During treatment at the Bellaire Hospital emergency room, appellant told a nurse that he had finally gotten those FBI or CIA people who had been watching him for a couple of years. While appellant was being transported by the police to Ben Taub Hospital, he voluntarily told them that the FBI “sent one of the biggest guys out to get him.” Appellant made a point that “it was an awfully big FBI agent” and that they were “out to get him.” Appellant told the officers that he knew it was an FBI agent by the car he was driving.

Appellant’s first ground of error, argued in a supplemental brief, alleges that the trial court erred by not granting his motion for instructed verdict, because the evidence is insufficient to sustain the verdict. The record reflects that appellant moved for an instructed verdict at the close of the State’s case, and then proceeded to put on his defense, not renewing the motion for instructed verdict at the close of the evidence. Therefore, we are not required to pass upon the contention that the evidence was insufficient at the time the State rested its case. Shirley v. State, 501. S.W.2d 635 (Tex.Cr.App.1973).

Nevertheless, we have reviewed the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and conclude that there is sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction. Appellant argues that CIA or FBI agents are not peace officers as defined under Art. 2.12 TEX.CODE CRIM.PRO.ANN. (Vernon 1977); therefore, the statements that he made to the nurse and the police officer would not be evidence that he knew complainant was a police officer. Appellant asserts that the evidence fails to support the allegations in the indictment. However, complainant testified that he informed the appellant he was a police officer before the fight began. That is direct evidence that appellant did in fact have knowledge that the complainant was a police officer. Further, complainant’s testimony is somewhat supported by Officer Broussard’s observation from behind. The appellant’s statements to the nurse and the police officer were circumstantial evidence that he knew complainant was a police officer, or some type of law enforcement officer. That fact that there was conflicting testimony does not render the evidence insufficient to support the conviction. The jury is the exclusive judge of the facts, the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be given their testimony. Penagraph v. State, 623 S.W.2d 341, 343 (Tex.Cr.App.1981). The evidence being sufficient to sustain the conviction, appellant’s first supplemental ground of error is overruled.

*48 In two related grounds of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred by allowing a nurse who treated the appellant and a policeman who transported him to the hospital to testify concerning oral statements made by appellant while in custody. Appellant argues that this testimony was admitted in violation of TEX.CODE CRIM.PRO. ANN. art. 38.22, § 3 (Vernon 1979). However, we find that TEX.CODE CRIM.PRO. ANN. art. 38.22, § 5 (Vernon 1979) is controlling in this situation and renders the testimony admissible.

The .record reflects that a nurse who treated the appellant in the emergency room of Bellaire Hospital testified in the State’s case in chief that appellant told her that he had “finally gotten those people who had been watching him for a couple of years.” Appellant indicated to the nurse that FBI or CIA people “had been watching him.” Appellant contends that the nurse’s testimony was inadmissible because he was in police custody at the time he made the statement; thus, it was the result of custodial interrogation. However, the voluntary statements made by appellant were not the result of custodial interrogation because the nurse was not a police officer, nor was she acting at the request of police officers to elicit incriminating information from the appellant. The questions asked by the nurse, and appellant’s responses to them, were for the purpose of a diagnostic evaluation of the appellant. There is no indication that the statements were other than voluntary.

In the recent case of Chambliss v. State, 647 S.W.2d 257 (Tex.Cr.App., 1983), the Court of Criminal Appeals clarified the law in this area by concluding that:

... while the 1977 legislature was still concerned with the reliability of oral statements, its concern was with oral statements resulting from custodial interrogation, not simply statements made in custody....
We ...

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Bluebook (online)
659 S.W.2d 45, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arnold-v-state-texapp-1983.