Can a policeman from county1 radar and pull over someone in county2?

[rmrf]

The other day I saw a policeman from county1, parked in county2 pulling over people that were speeding. Is this legal? I know that if you are in county1 and the policeman has to chase you to county2, that is within their rights. But when they are pulling people over in a county that they have no jurisdiction, is that right?

 

[chambersc]

i dont think it's right unless the countries have some sort of agreement. that's a weird scenario though.

 

[EyeMWing]

It's entirely possible that he was there legitimately - so long as he was handing out county2's citations, it's probably an issue of one understaffed PD asking another to help.

 

[rmrf]

That's what I thought. I've never seen any police from county2 pulling people over in county1 though, so I don't think there's any sort of agreement. Are they just expecting that people won't notice, and pay the ticket anyways?

This is pretty close to the county line, maybe within 1/4 mile, so maybe there is a certain amount of "neutral" space where anything goes?

 

[rmrf]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
It's entirely possible that he was there legitimately - so long as he was handing out county2's citations, it's probably an issue of one understaffed PD asking another to help.

no, I know for sure that's not the case

 

[bradruth]

For starters, you'll have to define policeman more specifically (i.e. city, county, state, federal).

 

[rmrf]

Originally posted by: bradruth
For starters, you'll have to define policeman more specifically (i.e. city, county, state, federal).

county policeman, in a county car. I live in a small town, and he's the policeman that was "assigned" our town as his regular beat.

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: rmrf

Originally posted by: bradruth
For starters, you'll have to define policeman more specifically (i.e. city, county, state, federal).

county policeman, in a county car. I live in a small town, and he's the policeman that was "assigned" our town as his regular beat.

Then unless he's granted statewide authority for some reason he should be initiating stops inside the county within his jurisdiction.

 

[rmrf]

Originally posted by: bradruth

Originally posted by: rmrf

Originally posted by: bradruth
For starters, you'll have to define policeman more specifically (i.e. city, county, state, federal).

county policeman, in a county car. I live in a small town, and he's the policeman that was "assigned" our town as his regular beat.

Then unless he's granted statewide authority for some reason he should be initiating stops inside the county within his jurisdiction.

Can he be sitting in county 2, while putting the radar on people while they are still in county1, then pulling them over in county2? That's the only scenario I could think up that would make this remotely legal.

 

[laurenlex]

1. Speed
2. Get pulled over
3. Fight it in court
4. Win!
5. ???
6. Profit

 

[marvw]

Occasionally two counties will work together for training.

 

[cardiac]

In Indiana, ALL policemen have statewide arrest powers. They all attend the IN State Police training camp, and are pretty much all trained alike throughout the state.

Bob

 

[rmrf]

Originally posted by: cardiac
In Indiana, ALL policemen have statewide arrest powers. They all attend the IN State Police training camp, and are pretty much all trained alike throughout the state.

Bob

Does the county have to make this known, i.e, on their website or something? I'm really interested in figuring out if this is legal, I've seen him doing it a couple of times now.

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: rmrf

Originally posted by: bradruth

Originally posted by: rmrf

Originally posted by: bradruth
For starters, you'll have to define policeman more specifically (i.e. city, county, state, federal).

county policeman, in a county car. I live in a small town, and he's the policeman that was "assigned" our town as his regular beat.

Then unless he's granted statewide authority for some reason he should be initiating stops inside the county within his jurisdiction.

Can he be sitting in county 2, while putting the radar on people while they are still in county1, then pulling them over in county2? That's the only scenario I could think up that would make this remotely legal.

Hyptothetically that should be OK.

 

[bunker]

bradruth, I'm surprised. Have you never heard of a mutual aid agreement?

It is quite common for neighboring jurisdictions to have a "mutual aid agreement".

Jurisdiction 1 can operate within a portion of jurisdiction 2's area and vice versa.

 

[sswingle]

Our city agreed to let the state highway patrol clock people within city limits. They even work together sometimes. And this is on roads that are not a highway in any way shape or form, these are city roads.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers
Our city agreed to let the state highway patrol clock people within city limits. They even work together sometimes. And this is on roads that are not a highway in any way shape or form, these are city roads.

I would normally preface this with "I'm not sure about your state, but in Ohio...", but I see that you're also in Ohio.

The OSHP (Ohio State Highway Patrol) has jurisdiction across the entire state - the word "Highway" is rather stupid to have in their name, as they patrol much more than the state's highways. They are also in charge of security at the governor's mansion, for example. I routinely see them patrolling city and county parks, too. OSHP likes to remain active. <shrug>

Fairfield County has assigned a Sheriff's Deputy to stay around Bremen (small villiage.... smaller than Mt. Vernon, IIRC). When he's off duty, it's common to see OSHP Officers cruising around, though that's at night, and the same guy patrols a much larger area, in multiple counties.

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: bunker
bradruth, I'm surprised. Have you never heard of a mutual aid agreement?

It is quite common for neighboring jurisdictions to have a "mutual aid agreement".

Jurisdiction 1 can operate within a portion of jurisdiction 2's area and vice versa.

Mutual aid agreements come in different forms and degrees. I haven't personally seen any county-to-county mutual aid agreements. What I've seen are agreements that are between border cities or between agencies with already overlapping jurisdiction.

For instance, my department has an agreement with the University Police Department. Their jurisdiction is technically statewide because they are employed by the state, but their actual enforcement is generally limited to the university and surrounding area, unless we request an assist from them. We are free to enforce throughout their jurisdiction. They also contribute 2 members to our area Explosive Ordinance Defusal team (bomb squad). The Sheriff's office contributes 2 members to our Special Enforcement Team (a "SWAT" team). We also assist the "east side" when requested, which crosses STATE lines.

All that said, we do not normally cross to the east side, nor do they cross to ours. The S.O. rarely does any enforcement within the city and we don't go outside the city unless we're engaged in a pursuit. The UPD is largely limited to campus and the surrounding area, while we are free to go throughout the entire city.

Edit: Oh, and highway patrol runs traffic within the city as well (generally to get DUIs).

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: bradruth

Originally posted by: bunker
bradruth, I'm surprised. Have you never heard of a mutual aid agreement?

It is quite common for neighboring jurisdictions to have a "mutual aid agreement".

Jurisdiction 1 can operate within a portion of jurisdiction 2's area and vice versa.

Mutual aid agreements come in different forms and degrees. I haven't personally seen any county-to-county mutual aid agreements. What I've seen are agreements that are between border cities or between agencies with already overlapping jurisdiction.

For instance, my department has an agreement with the University Police Department. Their jurisdiction is technically statewide because they are employed by the state, but their actual enforcement is generally limited to the university and surrounding area, unless we request an assist from them. We are free to enforce throughout their jurisdiction. They also contribute 2 members to our area Explosive Ordinance Defusal team (bomb squad). The Sheriff's office contributes 2 members to our Special Enforcement Team (a "SWAT" team). We also assist the "east side" when requested, which crosses STATE lines.

All that said, we do not normally cross to the east side, nor do they cross to ours. The S.O. rarely does any enforcement within the city and we don't go outside the city unless we're engaged in a pursuit. The UPD is largely limited to campus and the surrounding area, while we are free to go throughout the entire city.

Edit: Oh, and highway patrol runs traffic within the city as well (generally to get DUIs).

Here's something funny for you -- we had a State Senator that kept getting pulled over in small towns for speeding on the Interstate, so he passed a bill that made it illegal for towns of under 19,000 to enforce traffic laws on the interstate.

"(8) A law enforcement officer or a peace officer of any incorporated municipality or town which has less than 19,000 inhabitants according to the most recent federal decennial census shall not enforce this section on any interstate highway"

Code of Alabama

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: Mill
Here's something funny for you -- we had a State Senator that kept getting pulled over in small towns for speeding on the Interstate, so he passed a bill that made it illegal for towns of under 19,000 to enforce traffic laws on the interstate.

"(8) A law enforcement officer or a peace officer of any incorporated municipality or town which has less than 19,000 inhabitants according to the most recent federal decennial census shall not enforce this section on any interstate highway"

Code of Alabama

That actually passed? Lame.

 

[rmrf]

alright, I have another question. I just looked at our state legislature site, and it states that the maximum fine for a petty misdemeanor is $200. The county, however, lists some fines that are petty misdemeanors as above the $200 mark. Does county law trump the state law, or is the county trying to pull a fast one over on citizens that don't know any different?

I ask because my neighbor just got a ticket for ~20mph over or something, and his fine is $222.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: bradruth

Originally posted by: Mill
Here's something funny for you -- we had a State Senator that kept getting pulled over in small towns for speeding on the Interstate, so he passed a bill that made it illegal for towns of under 19,000 to enforce traffic laws on the interstate.

"(8) A law enforcement officer or a peace officer of any incorporated municipality or town which has less than 19,000 inhabitants according to the most recent federal decennial census shall not enforce this section on any interstate highway"

Code of Alabama

That actually passed? Lame.

I must clarify -- it only pertains to speeding. What sucks, however, is that then they don't try to enforce other laws on the higway (just the Sheriff and the State Troop[er does in areas of < 19,000), and that's where most of the fatalities occur. The speeding isn't what kills most of them -- most of the time it is reckless driving, following too closely, or a Poltergeist. I swear Alabama leads the nation in single car fatalities. A good 3/4's of all road fatalities are single car on a two lane road. WTF?