PA Constable Arrested by NYPD for Concealed Carry???

**Captain38** · November 30th, 2007, 11:07 AM

I've lost the link to the case of the PA constable arrested last year by NYPD while he was in NYC allegedly trying to serve a warrant. Can anyone of you hook me up with such a link?

**ChamberedRound** · November 30th, 2007, 11:33 AM

See here, about 2/3 of the way down the page:
http://www.nradefensefund.org/litigation.aspx

Excerpt here:

Manuel Rodriguez a/k/a Arthur Rodriguez (New York). He is a Pennsylvania Constable. Under Pennsylvania law he is authorized to carry a pistol without the need for a Pennsylvania license to carry a pistol. He was in New York City to execute a Pennsylvania warrant for an offense. He was parked in a Ford Crown Victoria equipped with police lights and it looked like an unmarked police car. New York City police questioned him about his identification and his occupation. They ignored his status as a police officer and ignored that he was executing a warrant. He was arrested for criminal possession of a pistol in the third degree, a felony. On November 3, 2006, Justice Ronald A. Zweibel of the New York Supreme Court, County of New York, held that Constable Rodriguez is a peace officer under Pennsylvania law and he is also a peace officer under New York Penal Law 265.20, which exempts out of state peace officers from needing a New York pistol license while performing their official duties in New York. Justice Zweibel further held that the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004, 18 U.S. Code 926B, applied to him. Accordingly, the court granted the defense motion to dismiss the indictment. The court also ordered Constable Rodriguez's property, including his pistol, to be returned forthwith.

**Steve in PA** · November 30th, 2007, 12:29 PM

How did he get away with trying to execute an out of state warrant?

So, is he certified both, in PA and NY as a LEO???

**ExCopInPhilly** · November 30th, 2007, 01:06 PM

New York defines Constables as peace officers, and exempts them from alot of the judicial process which LEO's operate under. I am more concerned with him being there to serve an out of state warrant, without notifying local LE. Not only is that improper, but it is also unsafe.

**DaveM55** · November 30th, 2007, 01:19 PM

My understanding is Pa Constables aren't authorized to run emergency lights on thier vehicles either.

**knight0334** · November 30th, 2007, 01:21 PM

I dont know about that... I've seen quite a few Constable cars with a red dashlight.

**djturnz** · November 30th, 2007, 01:22 PM

Perhaps they were refering to the tear drop light.

**knight0334** · November 30th, 2007, 01:23 PM

Come to think of it though, I've never seen any Constables with both red and blue lights. ...which if my memory serves me correct - is reserved for LEO's only.

**CZ40P** · November 30th, 2007, 03:46 PM

State Constables are forbidden by the PSP from using emergency lights. They are not authorized to do traffic stops.
If a State Constable buys a used police car, even the wig-wags must be disconnected

This is a BIG bone of contention among the ranks of State Constables. If you read a few of their forums, you will see there are a few that are really pushing the issue.

In my opinion there are a lot of cop wanna-be's in the ranks of the State Constables.