Jurisdiction of Police Officers

The State appealed the trial magistrate’s decision to dismiss the charged violations of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27-2.1 (refusal to submit to chemical test) and R.I.G.L § 31-27-2.1 (revocation of license upon refusal to submit to preliminary breath test). The State argued the trial magistrate erred in his decision to dismiss the charged violations on jurisdictional grounds because there was a mutual aid agreement in effect between the two jurisdictions. A police department is limited to its own jurisdiction, absent one of the two exceptions recognized in the controlling authority, State v. Ceraso, 812 A.2d 829 (R.I. 2002). Ceraso explains that an Officer is not limited by territorial jurisdiction if the Officer is in “hot pursuit” of the suspect or if the Officer is responding to an emergency request for assistance. Here, the Panel concluded that the Officer was neither in hot pursuit of the suspect nor was the Officer was responding to an emergency situation. Accordingly, the Panel upheld the trial magistrate’s decision to dismiss the charges because the arrest occurred outside the Officer’s jurisdiction.

Town of Jamestown v. Steven White, C.A. No. T08-0141 (December 17, 2008).pdf