Jurisdiction of Police Officers

The Defendant appealed the trial magistrate’s decision sustaining the charged violation of G.L. 1956 §31-14-3 (conditions requiring reduced speed).  The Defendant maintained that the police officer, who was employed by the Jamestown Police Department, lacked the jurisdiction to pull over the Defendant in a different municipality.  The Panel noted that there are only two scenarios in which a police officer can pursue a suspect outside of his or her jurisdiction: G.L. 1956 §45-42-1 (emergency police power) and G.L. 1956 §12-7-19 (arrest after close pursuit by officers).  See State v. Ceraso, 812 A.2d 829 (R.I. 2002).  Here, the Panel determined neither the “hot pursuit” or “emergency police power” exception applied.  Subsequently, the Appeals Panel reversed the decision of the trial court and dismissed the charged violation.

Town of Jamestown v. Patrick J. Walker, C.A. No. T14-0034 (February 1, 2016).pdf