Vermont teen accuses police of sexual assault after arrest

[Lee-Lee]

23. It will vary some state to state

But when in public you can be approached at at time just like anyone can approach you. You are not obligated to answer and can leave any time.

Now, to detain a person from leavingis a higher standard. If an officer approaches you requires you to stay, or pulls you over and prevents you from leaving, while he or she investigates to determine if a crime has taken place they must meet the standard called Reasonable Suspicion. RS is more than just a hunch and you have to be able to articulate what you observed or knew that would lead a "reasonable person" to suspect a crime may have occurred or be occurring.

To arrest requires probable cause, a much higher standard than RS. You use RS to detain a person and allow you to investigate to see if probable cause exists. For example a car weaving in and out of the lane is reasonable suspicion a person is driving under the influence. You use that RS to stop them and detain them to investigate with observations, field sobriety tests and/or a portable breathalyzer to determine if probable cause exists to arrest.

3 people passed out in a car is way past the threshold for reasonable suspicion.