What do you guys know about out of jurisdiction police rules?

[Frank Reynolds]

Long story short, I was behind a police vehicle in the #1 lane for approx 10 miles. The vehicle was city PD for a city about 30-40 miles north of where we were and in a different county.

I was pacing behind him/them for several miles going at a good clip. They were maintaining approx 80-87mph for the duration. I kept a good distance though. At one point they flashed their light bar, not sure if it was directed at me for following them or at a slowpoke in front of them, but there was clearly no emergency and they were out of jurisdiction by a long shot. What are the rules surrounding this? Just gross curiosity and a little peeved that they were being dicks on the road simply because they could. You wouldn't know it was an out of jurisdiction dept. until you got semi-close to the vehicle since most of them look the same around here but the rear said POLICE whereas this area is exclusively County Sheriff and CHP.

 

[Sumfuncomet]

“They were being dicks on the road simply because they could”. I think that sums it up, they are authorized to enforce the law period. The whole “jurisdiction” is not a hard and fast rule. You could have been written a speeding ticket, our local LEO can write speeding tickets on the Interstate, usually only for jackasses going 85 in a 65.

 

[Wrath And Tears]

Any LEO can write speeding tickets. This includes Fish and Wildlife Wardens.

 

[crxgator]

I don’t know about that.

I was following a county sheriff who was going the speed limit in a county outside his jurisdiction. People were passing him going 10-20 mph over. As soon as he hit the county line he turned on his lights and got someone.


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[Bäsemödel]

I was pulled over in Baltimore this weekend for doing ... well.. above the speed limit lets say...

it was by an unmarked explorer, plainclothes officer w a detective badge... i think he was just on his way somewhere and noticed the pace at which I was traveling...

somehow i got a warning... which i was insanely thankful for...

 

[Bäsemödel]

I was pulled over in Baltimore this weekend for doing ... well.. above the speed limit lets say...

it was by an unmarked explorer, plainclothes officer w a detective badge... i think he was just on his way somewhere and noticed the pace at which I was traveling...

somehow i got a warning... which i was insanely thankful for...

 

[The Fed]

AFAIK, they cannot enforce laws in other jurisdictions unless they're authorized. When sheriff's deputies go to another county (or is it state?) they're deputized by the sheriff of that county. But perhaps these regulations are decided by the chief LEO's for these jurisdictions.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

I was pulled over in Baltimore this weekend for doing ... well.. above the speed limit lets say...

it was by an unmarked explorer, plainclothes officer w a detective badge... i think he was just on his way somewhere and noticed the pace at which I was traveling...

somehow i got a warning... which i was insanely thankful for...

Any LEO can write speeding tickets. This includes Fish and Wildlife Wardens.

Both of these scenarios do not touch on the aspect of jurisdiction. I work in an area regularly patrolled by park rangers. Trucks have red and blues and I’ve seen them pull people over. But it has to be within the area they patrol.

Same goes for the unmarked situation above. If he thinks your driving is bad enough and it’s within his jurisdiction, sure he can pull you over and cite you. But if he’s a Baltimore detective in another city, he can’t. To my knowledge.

Personally, I think with my situation in the OP, the guy was being a jackass and abusing his powers and using the ignorance of the cars around him to his advantage.

 

[codered911]

You don't have to run lights and sirens to be responding. That being said you won't know so take down their unit number and report it. Make sure you tell them you were speeding too.

 

[swcrow]

Certain counties have what is essentially a "service level agreement" with other neighboring counties, where they are able to act as supplemental law enforcement (highspeed chases, etc). Whether that extends to speeding tickets is purely up to each county.

 

[Mike-E]

Depends on the State. In Georgia, any sworn LEO can write traffic tickets anywhere. Sheriffs and their Deputies can enforce any state law, anywhere in GA.

But, be realistic. If a LEO is 2 hours away from his home, he is not ticketing someone for going 10-15 mph over. If he did, he would have to come to court to testify. It is not worth his time/money.

 

[Shane_Anigans]

At one point they flashed their light bar, not sure if it was directed at me for following them or at a slowpoke in front of them, but there was clearly no emergency and they were out of jurisdiction by a long shot. What are the rules surrounding this? Just gross curiosity and a little peeved that they were being dicks on the road simply because they could.

It could be they flashed their lights to remind you that while they have immunity from traffic enforcement, you don't, even if you're following them.

If they were flashing their lights to get someone ahead of them out of the passing lane, good.

 

[The Fed]

Both of these scenarios do not touch on the aspect of jurisdiction. I work in an area regularly patrolled by park rangers. Trucks have red and blues and I’ve seen them pull people over. But it has to be within the area they patrol.

Same goes for the unmarked situation above. If he thinks your driving is bad enough and it’s within his jurisdiction, sure he can pull you over and cite you. But if he’s a Baltimore detective in another city, he can’t. To my knowledge.

Personally, I think with my situation in the OP, the guy was being a jackass and abusing his powers and using the ignorance of the cars around him to his advantage.

What kind of park, state or federal? In any event, I never saw a Park Ranger enforce laws outside of their jurisdiction.

I watched a deputy pull over a truck. It was just within the city limits. He called for a city cop to give out the ticket.

Cops are not going to write a ticket out of their jurisdiction.. Their superiors don't want to pay for them to travel to testify in another jurisdiction.

 

[Strange Mud]

so I'm sure this makes me sound like a dick...but, you all were doing the same speed and they were the dicks?

 

[Frank Reynolds]

so I'm sure this makes me sound like a dick...but, you all were doing the same speed and they were the dicks?

I’m fully aware that I was driving well over the speed limit. Safely. And I don’t often do that kind of thing. I’m a bit outside the regular mk7 demographic and don’t possess any tall tales related to “spanking” JDM cars off the line, etc.

The difference is that law enforcement officers are held, or should be held to a higher standard, as they are public servants. I also don’t possess a light bar on my vehicle and did not tailgate other vehicles to bully them out of the way of a non-emergency simply because i was in an emergency vehicle. I see what you were trying to achieve here. That’s ok, it makes you feel better when you get to call a potential double standard on an internet stranger.