Public Intoxication
G.L. c. 111B, § 8 — protective custody, a right to a breath test, and one phone call
In Massachusetts, a police officer may help a person who is incapacitated by alcohol, with or without their consent, to their home, a treatment facility or a police station.
A right to a breath test. A person taken to a police station has the right, and is told in writing, to ask for a breath test. A result of ten one hundredths or more means a presumption of intoxication and protective custody; five one hundredths or less means a presumption of sobriety and immediate release. In between, a coordination or speech test decides.
A person held in protective custody at a station has the right, and is told of it, to make one phone call at their own expense.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.L. c. 111B, § 8 — Protective custody of incapacitated persons
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Massachusetts attorney.