State Constables, the best kept secret in PA.

[ungawa]

Really?? Were you God? A world leader? Kind of a dramatic statement you made there. Sounds like you may be getting a little overdone with your own self importance.

He could tell you but then he would have to change your life in negative ways.

[turkeyduster]

He could tell you but then he would have to change your life in negative ways.

That made me laugh out loud!! Good one!!!!

[justashooter]

trust me, i wasn't a god, just a demi-god. i'd tell you about it, but you don't have a cognitive schema in place that would allow you to accept the reality.

[turkeyduster]

trust me, i wasn't a god, just a demi-god. i'd tell you about it, but you don't have a cognitive schema in place that would allow you to accept the reality.

Thus ends your lesson grasshopper

[Metz]

trust me, i wasn't a god, just a demi-god. i'd tell you about it, but you don't have a cognitive schema in place that would allow you to accept the reality.

You've had to take the blue pill.

[Oscar8]

Lol, after a long day of work reading the last series of posts have been most entertaining.

JUSTASHOOTER... Not sure what your hate for constables are. I can only assume that perhaps you had negative interactions with a constable at one point. Your right, this forum was specifically talking about constables and not police. the discussion went into a Constables authority to arrest, in which I made my best reply because many truly are not aware of the awesome authority bestowed upon constables by statute.

Yes there are Constables whom have acted unethically, and in some cases criminally as well. In some cases you will even find that the constables were found to be innocent of the charges against them (just like can be found in one of the examples you previously posted-guess you just copied and pasted from wikipedia without reading it entirely or I'd imagine you would have left that one out). As I pointed out though, out of the nearly 4000 constables whom have been certified, there really isn't more than a dozen of them whom have acted in criminal or unethical ways. And to date, those Constables have been thrown out of office by the Courts, arrested, and barred from ever becoming a constable again. That is more than can be said about police whom act unethically, or criminally... but we will stick to constables since you clearly do not want to consider those facts as relevant to the discussion.

In regards to the blanket assumption you seem to be making that constables are power grabbing, demon driven, dirt bags looking for nothing more than satisfying their own personal search for power over people... I think this truly shows the fact that you are overly biased in your opinions, and do not possess the intestinal fortitude to admit that you may be wrong about those convictions you have towards Constables.

You took my examples of a constable writing private criminal complaints, and the examples I wrote about things I have done, and have jumped to the conclusion that all constables do this regularly. I provided those examples to help cite situations that back up my claim that constables have more authority and powers of arrest than a private citizen. The fact of the matter is that many constables do have a good relationship with other law enforcement agencies (at least here in the northeast- i cannot speak for other areas of the state), and typically do not have to exercise the power bestowed upon them by statute. We don't try to step on toes, but when a situation presents, where we may find ourselves in a position to use that power to protect the people or make a difference, then by all means we can and will do so. And it is important to note that when we do those things we do so with no monetary benefit, and actually expose ourselves to full liability since the state doesn't provide us with legal representation... Still it is obvious you miss that point. So really the conversation with you is going no where.

I'm really not going to continue to go back and forth with you about this matter any more as I truly do not have the time. I feel it is important to educate people about the office of the constable, and will continue to do so for those whom are willing to listen and appreciate it. I do not profess to know everything, which is clearly evident in the fact that I even stated I would be seeking clarification about a specific issue discussed in this forum so that I may be aware, and so that I may advise others of the stance of the agencies that typically would be prosecuting such cases, or training officers how to respond to such situations. I think that seeking that information is part of professionalism, and as an LEO, knowing exactly how to handle a situation is better than simply "winging it". You can maintain your stance and impression against Constables, that is your right. If I should come in contact with you one day, I can assure you I will maintain the highest level of professionalism as I do everyday while carrying out the functions of my office.

On that note.. I think I saw another forum relating to shooting competitions. I will try and find that and post there as well. I wanted to bring up though, in case anyone is interested, that the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Constables have set up a shooting competition. The event is a fundraiser which is being held on March 29th, 2014 at Pocono Pistol Club in Stroudsburg, PA. The event starts at 11 am. Call 570-424-2940 to register. $25 per person. Open to Law Enforcement and the general public. Proceeds benefit the families of deceased Constables Jim Loy and Tom Kreckman.

[bort]

A couple of updates over the years regarding some issues that have been addressed here.

First point do not take any ones word on the internet do your homework from what is posted. Ok lets dig in.

Very true that PSC were barred traffic enforcement by PASSC. Then it was determined that traffic infractions were a breach of peace which falls to the Constable for enforcement. However the recent change in Constable specific Law removed the "Peace Officer" status. At this point, imo, it would take a new case law to clarify this issue. I don't see a PSC throwing themselves under a bus for that though.

Very true Sheriffs can work DUI checkpoints but a 2012 PASSC ruling barred Sheriffs from conducting their own checkpoints. They must be w/ a municipal/PSP to do such. (I believe Alleghany is an exception).

Arrest authority always the hot topic. PASSC ruled rather then expanding a PSC authority on arrest they recognize the same as a citizen. Which means there is no issue on effecting an arrest for crimes in their view. They could run into issues if done on "probable cause" along with if the DA will not accept charges from them. If someone liters in front of them its best to be left alone because they (most) can't issue a citation so what would a PSC do w/ such a crime.

In recent years I am aware of PSC involved in pursuits w/ sirens on a pov, receive "qualified immunity" detain on criminal acts and all were given thumbs up by PD/DA Offices. I am also aware of Constables go to jail, pay fines and/or walk away from it because they were involved in above type incidents.

Each Constable simply needs to be well educated, know what boundaries their area PD/DA expects and don't expect from them and they will in general be just fine staying in their line of work.

[Oscar8]

Im not exactly sure what case you are referring to that removed a Constables "peace officer status". Even in our most recent legal updates were are referred to as peace officers, and our instructors even acknowledged the fact that the law states that constables are police officers by definition in PA law. That being said I think that it is obvious that we all know the difference between a constable, a sheriff, and a municipal police officer. With the exception of a sheriff who lacks statutory powers of arrest, we are considered police, each with a different role.

By no means do I suggest that Constables can enforce the vehicle code, and in fact I do assert that we do not have the authority to do so. I merely brought up that case because it does reflect that a breach of the peace covers a much broader list of offenses than what was being suggested by some folks in the forum.

You are also right that constables typically do not investigate crimes, therefore cannot conduct an investigation and make an arrest off of probable cause. Constables can by law conduct an investigation into certain issues however only at the request of the Court.

As for Constables making on view arrests for certain crimes. You mentioned littering specifically. In many places along with being an offense under the crimes code, many municipalities have ordinances that also specify littering as an offense. As I have stated in earlier posts, there are some municipalities that actually adopted resolutions that have specifically bestowed upon the Constable to enforce the ordinances of the township. This actually did not need to be done because the statutes already provide that constables can enforce ordinance violations. The problem comes with the fact that political powers at the AOPC no longer issue constables citations like they did up until the 1990's. Therefore, we lack the "tools" to be able to enforce the ordinances, and therefore typically do not try to enforce the ordinances. The township that I referred to that passed a resolution specifically providing the constable to enforce the ordinances actually also issues that constable a citation book so that he does have the tool to do the job.

It is true. Constables should be astute to what they are doing, and what they are getting themselves into. Everything in the end will come down to training, and how well the Constable is able to articulate why he has done what he does. As long as Constables arent out there trying to conduct traffic stops, and investigating crimes, they should be fine.

[Deleted]

Very true that PSC were barred traffic enforcement by PASSC. Then it was determined that traffic infractions were a breach of peace which falls to the Constable for enforcement..

Just a little correction...

Comm v. Roose is the case where the Pa Supreme Court ruled that Constables do not have the authority to enforce the vehicle code. This is because there is no statutory authority for a Constable to do so.

In Roose the Superior Court went on to distinguish Constables from other Law Enforcement Officers....

"Constables and deputy constables are not employees of
any municipal subdivision as police and sheriffs are.
They are not paid a salary by any municipal subdivision
but rather are independent contractors whose pay is on a
per job basis. . . . As independent contractors, they are
not acting for or under the control of the Commonwealth
and cannot be considered Commonwealth employees in
order to receive legal representation when sued in
connection with their duties. Rosenwald v. Barbieri, 501
Pa. 563, 462 A.2d 644 (1983). No one supervises
constables in the way a police chief supervises police
officers or a sheriff supervises deputies. No municipality
is responsible for their actions in the way a city, borough,
or township is responsible for its police or a county is
responsible for its sheriff's office. In fact, our supreme
court has found unconstitutional legislation which
attempted to place constables under the supervisory
authority of the courts.

In discussing the public safety concerns posed by a constable who
decides to make unauthorized arrests, the Superior Court continued:
For example, is a citizen required to stop when signaled
to do so by a constable or deputy constable? The offense
of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer by its
very terms is limited to police officers who are in a
clearly identifiable police vehicle or, if the vehicle is
unmarked, the officer must be in uniform and displaying
a badge. 75 Pa. C.S. § 3733. Constables and deputy
constables do not have uniforms and they are not
provided with municipal vehicles but use their own
private cars. By what means does a constable or deputy
constable signal a driver to stop? Under the Motor
Vehicle Code, a constable’s private automobile does not
fit within the definition of an emergency vehicle, 75 Pa.
C.S. § 102, and is not within that class of vehicles which
may display flashing red or blue lights or use sirens. 75
Pa. C.S. § 4571. If a constable or deputy constable
violates someone's constitutional rights, is there “state
action”? What if a constable or deputy constable is
injured or killed while making a traffic stop? Since there
is no employer, there would be no workers’
compensation coverage, leaving the injured constable to
pay any expenses.
Id. at 269-70 (emphasis added). Relevant to the instant matter, the Court continued in a footnote to discuss a constable’s vehicle and the lack of a standardized uniform that would signal to the public a higher authority:
We recognize that some constables have outfitted
themselves in a “uniform” of their own choosing.
However, inherent in the concept of a uniform is that all
members of the particular organization, be it a police
force or a Scout troop, are required by some higher
authority to wear identical clothing. This is simply not
possible with a constable who is an independent
contractor and is not supervised by a higher authority in a
particular organization.

Not only is a constable not authorized by statute to purchase a vehicle on
behalf of a political subdivision, our courts have recognized significant public
safety issues where a constable has attempted to overreach his statutorily granted authority and take actions akin to those reserved for “highly trained” police officers. "


As for the "breach of the peace" part... there was a sheriff's case where a guys probation officer observed him driving while suspended. His Probation officer notified a sheriff's deputy who then in turn wrote a citation. The first issue before the court was weather driving under suspension was a breach of the peace (yes) and second weather the sheriff could issue a citation (yes). I forget the case name on that one....sorry.

[Oscar8]

A peace officer is defined as:Any person who by virtue of his office or public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for offenses, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to specific offenses, or any person on active State duty pursuant to section 311 of the act of May 27, 1949 (P.L.1903, No. 596), known as “The Military Code of 1949.”   The term “peace officer” shall also include any member of any park police department of any county of the third class.18 Pa.C.S.A. § 501 (footnote omitted).In a footnote to the statement that a constable is a peace officer, the In Re Act 147 court expressly noted:  “The constable is a police officer.”  In Re Act 147 528 Pa. at 471 n. 3, 598 A.2d at 990 n. 3. The Taylor court rejected the claim that this statement recognized that constables possess the same authorities and duties as police officers.   Rather, “when read in the context in which it was uttered, the court's statement indicates that the powers of constables and police officers are coextensive in matters relating to ‘conservation of the peace.’ ”   Taylor, 450 Pa.Super. at 587 n.6, 677 A.2d at 848 n.6. - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/pa-superi....rCpsLSzP.dpuf