A law enforcement officer can stop someone for DWI outside their jurisdiction if the driver poses an "imminent danger" to others, a state appeals court said in a ruling in two Bossier Parish cases.
The ruling set precedent: Until now, officers outside their jurisdiction could only stop people suspected of felonies.
Both cases involved cases where law enforcement officers were out of their jurisdictions when they spotted people driving erratically. Both officers pulled the drivers over and waited for other law officers to arrive.
Law officers outside their jurisdiction are considered civilians when it comes to arrest powers. Until this decision, they could make a "citizens arrest" only in the case of a felony.
But the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that trained law enforcement officers should be able to provided limited assistance when dangerous driving was involved.
"It would be difficult for an officer to explain to the family of a motorist killed by a swerve that an out-of-jurisdiction police officer in a police vehicle was powerless to pull him over, even for a quick check," the court said.
Attorney Whitley Graves, who represents one of those who was arrested, said he will appeal the ruling. The appeals court overstepped its authority, Graves said.
"They are authorizing police officers to have misdemeanor arrest powers that the Legislature has refused to give them," Graves said. "Blue-light rapists are salivating over this ruling."
The ruling applies to officers in a marked vehicle who get permission from an officer who has jurisdiction.
The rulings don't authorize citizens to stop someone on suspicion of DWI, no matter how concerned they are, Bossier District Attorney Schuyler Marvin said. Civilians can still make an arrest for a felony crime, although Marvin said those are rare and are discouraged by law enforcement.
"We would discourage it at all, except in an egregious case where it necessary to stop someone from fleeing," Marvin said. "It''s obviously dangerous."
The appeals court looked at two cases in Bossier Parish:
In one, a Greenwood police officer headed to her home in Benton saw a vehicle being driven erratically. She called law enforcement. A state trooper headed to the call asked her to pull the vehicle over but not to get out of her car until he got there.
The other case involved a Bossier City police officer who pulled a suspected drunk driver over in the town of Benton.
That case was sent back to Bossier District Court to see if the officer's actions met all the criteria in the ruling. The Bossier City officer did not get permission before he pulled the driver over.
