Jurisdiction

[92f-fan]

You could have shortened the entire story to this:
"Duncanville Police Officer"
Andybody that is in or near Duncanville would just nod their head in unity, knowing what you went through.
I mean, those guys make Barney Fife look like Albert Einstein

Lets not generalize
A good friend of mine is an officer in that Dept and Ive met a few of his coworkers. All good guys
BUT the area has gone down hill and the job they do has gotten MUCH more difficult.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Is Duncanville the city where they have gone nuts
with the red light cameras and gave out some tens
of thousands of citations, some of which are highly
questionable?

SIA

[ninemm]

A 33 round magazine really isn't all that noticeable.

[sjfcontrol]

A 33 round magazine really isn't all that noticeable.

Dash.JPG

What's the green thing on top of it? Looks like a big ugly green stapler -- or perhaps an even uglier cellphone?

[ninemm]

They're Hardie board siding gauges.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VERBCU/ref ... B000VERBCU

[hoot]

A few years back, there was a Kip's Big Boy at the corner of Gulf Fwy and Airport Blvd in Houston. I was approaching the intersection on a day when there was lots of traffic and road construction. Construction had it bottled to the point that I waited through 3 light cycles before I was next to the entrance to KBB. So I took the short cut to avoid further delay. Just what the police were sitting there waiting for me (or anybody else) to do. I did not know that there was a law against taking short cuts. (not an acceptable excuse). Now I see other people taking short cuts all the time. I think the capital of shortcuts is the intersection of Hwy 75 and Spring Creek in Plano. I see somebody taking that shortcut almost every time I go through there. --- Well... we grow too soon old and too late smart. (But mama, EVERYBODY is doing it)

[boomerang]

Yes, it is illegal to cut across private property to avoid an intersection. And technically, even to drive across the parking lot of another business as was done by the OP.

Transportation Code Section 545.423. CROSSING PROPERTY.
(a) An operator may not cross a sidewalk or drive through a driveway, parking lot, or business or residential entrance without stopping the vehicle.
(b) An operator may not cross or drive in or on a sidewalk, driveway, parking lot, or business or residential entrance at an intersection to turn right or left from one highway to another highway.

It seems it's also illegal to lock your keys in your car.

Sec. 545.404. Unattended Motor Vehicle.
An operator may not leave the vehicle unattended without:
(1) stopping the engine;
(2) locking the ignition;
(3) removing the key from the ignition;
(4) setting the parking brake effectively; and
(5) if standing on a grade, turning the front wheels to the curb or side of the highway.

[marksiwel]

Yes, it is illegal to cut across private property to avoid an intersection. And technically, even to drive across the parking lot of another business as was done by the OP.

Transportation Code Section 545.423. CROSSING PROPERTY.
(a) An operator may not cross a sidewalk or drive through a driveway, parking lot, or business or residential entrance without stopping the vehicle.
(b) An operator may not cross or drive in or on a sidewalk, driveway, parking lot, or business or residential entrance at an intersection to turn right or left from one highway to another highway.

It seems it's also illegal to lock your keys in your car.

Sec. 545.404. Unattended Motor Vehicle.
An operator may not leave the vehicle unattended without:
(1) stopping the engine;
(2) locking the ignition;
(3) removing the key from the ignition;
(4) setting the parking brake effectively; and
(5) if standing on a grade, turning the front wheels to the curb or side of the highway.

Some Dumb dumb at one of my old jobs came into the store as I was going to lunch.
He left his door unlocked and his car running.
I opened his door, turned off the motor and put the keys in the Drivers side door.
I came back 30 minutes later and he still hadnt come back from inside! I should have just stole his car

[gregthehand]

Officers outside their jurisdiction can not enforce traffic violations. They have to be in their city if they are local police, or county if they are SO or Constables office. Also a deputy constable can write a traffic ticket anywhere in the county. They are supposed to write it for the precinct they are in at the time but that doesn't always happen. Also a lot of small towns next to big cities will write tickets out of their jurisdiction since 98% of the time people don't check or ask questions they just pay.

A related story and I won't give out the name of the city since this should still be an on-going investigation.

A young officer from a larger town, with less than one year on the job, in his personally owned white Dodge Charger with red and blue lights executed a traffic stop on a driver in a smaller neighboring town for speeding. The officer was not in uniform but was allowed to have red and blue lights on his car because he worked extra jobs for highway crews. The female driver did not immediately ID since the guy was not in uniform and not in a marked car. He basically got her out and cuffed her saying she was going down for failure to ID. Local police show up per officer's request and ask what's going on. He tells them what was what and they say un-hook her as you have no traffic jurisdiction here and therefore no reason to stop and ask her for ID anyhow. Big city officer gets mad but obliges.

The officer on scene said the big town cop had a young female passenger that he thinks the young officer was trying to impress. Why he didn't do it in his own city I have no idea. He was about ten minutes from being inside it's borders. Maybe he was confused and thought he was inside the larger city but after getting her out and cuffed realized he wasn't.

The larger cities internal affairs showed up the very next day and asked for the video and officer's report.

[Drewthetexan]

It's been 7 years, but I used to work at the spring creek there. That area is a total nightmare (and dangerous at night) and I completely understand wanting to use that traffic light to "shield" your escape from the home depot parking lot. That was also definitely Dallas city limits, and Duncanville LEOs should have known that. Duncanville limits stop at Wheatland Rd and HWY 67, a mile west of old hickory trail.

As an aside, in the year that I worked at that location, we were robbed once (at gunpoint, manager was barricaded in the refrigerator), burglarized once (the burglar shot our safe and himself from ricochet ), my truck was broken into twice (after which I just left the huge hole in my dash where everything used to be ), and there were at least 2 other robberies (jack in the box, popeyes) that I knew about. I don't expect it has changed much down there.

[srothstein]

Officers outside their jurisdiction can not enforce traffic violations. They have to be in their city if they are local police, or county if they are SO or Constables office. Also a deputy constable can write a traffic ticket anywhere in the county.

Sorry to make this convoluted but I thought this had been cleared up already. Police officers can write traffic tickets anywhere in their county (or counties if their city crosses county lines).

Article 14.03(g) of the Code of Criminal Procedure states:

Art. 14.03. AUTHORITY OF PEACE OFFICERS.
(g)(1) A peace officer listed in Subdivision (1), (2), or (5), Article 2.12, who is licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, and is outside of the officer's jurisdiction may arrest without a warrant a person who commits any offense within the officer's presence or view, other than a violation of Subtitle C, Title 7, Transportation Code.

(2) A peace officer listed in Subdivision (3), Article 2.12, who is licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, and is outside of the officer's jurisdiction may arrest without a warrant a person who commits any offense within the officer's presence or view, except that an officer described in this subdivision who is outside of that officer's jurisdiction may arrest a person for a violation of Subtitle C, Title 7, Transportation Code, only if the offense is committed in the county or counties in which the municipality employing the peace officer is located.

Art. 2.12 says:

Art. 2.12. WHO ARE PEACE OFFICERS. The following are peace officers:

(1) sheriffs, their deputies, and those reserve deputies who hold a permanent peace officer license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;

(2) constables, deputy constables, and those reserve deputy constables who hold a permanent peace officer license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;

(3) marshals or police officers of an incorporated city, town, or village, and those reserve municipal police officers who hold a permanent peace officer license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;

(4) rangers and officers commissioned by the Public Safety Commission and the Director of the Department of Public Safety;

(5) investigators of the district attorneys', criminal district attorneys', and county attorneys' offices;

The Transportation Code shows:

TRANSPORTATION CODE

TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD

Since local police officers are under Article 2.12(3), clearly from 14.03(g)(2) they can write the tickets outside their jurisdiction if they are anywhere in their county.

For more information on the arrest authorities (especialyl if the officer knows to claim his authority under 14.01 instead of 14.03) or who are peace officers (all 37 types), please see the full Code of Criminal Procedure. For the types of violations that tickets can be written for, please see the full Transportation Code (it is way too long to quote here). The official state web site for statutes is:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And they promise to have it updated with the latest versions of the laws this month sometime.

[chabouk]

Officers outside their jurisdiction can not enforce traffic violations. They have to be in their city if they are local police, or county if they are SO or Constables office. Also a deputy constable can write a traffic ticket anywhere in the county.

Sorry to make this convoluted but I thought this had been cleared up already. Police officers can write traffic tickets anywhere in their county (or counties if their city crosses county lines).

In Texarkana, they can even cross state lines. While they don't routinely patrol across the line, both cities' officers have full authority in both states, within city limits.

[gregthehand]

I have to do some reading on it. As I remember it has to do with actually how big the county is and how populated it is.

[trdvet]

As I recall nothing defines jurisdiction. The arrest authorities define what/where Peace Officers can do things. If a county starts ICS they can call for mutual aid in time of need. Therefore, you can possibly see a Deputy from Harris County in Austin. I know during Ike there were LEOs from Dallas, Austin and San Antonio in Houston working with HPD to fill the ranks.

[gigag04]

As I recall nothing defines jurisdiction. The arrest authorities define what/where Peace Officers can do things.

(2) A peace officer listed in Subdivision (3), Article 2.12, who is licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, and is outside of the officer's jurisdiction may arrest without a warrant a person who commits any offense within the officer's presence or view, except that an officer described in this subdivision who is outside of that officer's jurisdiction may arrest a person for a violation of Subtitle C, Title 7, Transportation Code, only if the offense is committed in the county or counties in which the municipality employing the peace officer is located.

I know it's in legal-eeze but I think it spells it out in there. The CCP is tough to read...that's why people that get paid better than I do get to deal with it.