03/27/2009
Jurisdiction of Police Officers
The state appealed the decision of the Appeals Panel reversing the trial magistrate’s dismissal of the violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27-21 (refusal to submit to a chemical test). Defendant argued that a Warwick Police Officer who started following the defendant’s car in Warwick did not have the jurisdiction to make an arrest in West Warwick. The District Court held that when a driver’s poor conduct takes place over a span of two jurisdictions, the officer can effectuate a proper arrest in a jurisdiction outside the borders of their own as long as conduct warranting the traffic stop took place in the arresting officer’s jurisdiction. Accordingly, since the defendant was clearly in Warwick when the officer began to monitor her conduct, the arrest in West Warwick was proper. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the decision of the Appeals Panel.