Youth accused of resisting arrest and assault after run-in with off-duty deputy

Was it all that bad? He's 17. Sounds like an officer just got in hit his pride or had his teflon muscles scratched. If the kid did harm, so be it, but come on.... really?

Can an off duty cop phsycally detain an underage idividual for speeding

An off-duty cop can most certainly detain anyone of any age if he or she has witnessed a person breaking the law. It only becomes "physical" when an individual decides to disobey and tries to flee, then the cop -- off-duty or otherwise -- can physically restrain the person as necessary. Regardless of whether the offense was simply speeding, when a person who identifies himself or herself as a law enforcement officer tells you to stay put, hell-O, you do it. Simple.

Amen Billie.

hahaha lol this cop is deff a tough guy. id like to see him stop someone in the bx or nola. he'd get more than a sore wrist. ............. .....basically, if he wants to exert his power, then fine. but there is a reason why cops have guns. if you're off-duty, then dont engage in the same activities as you would when you're on duty. ........... Billie, if i come to your house right now and identify my self as a law enforcement officer and i tell you to stay put, hell-O, would you do it? Not so simple.?

Tyler, your imaginary scenario of a cop coming to my house out of the blue and telling me to stay put is lame and a poor analogy to this situation. The teen was allegedly speeding and I for one don't like speeders whether they are 17 or 37. In society, we must have respect for law enforcement. This officer was no phony, else he wouldn't have waited for someone in uniform to respond.

I don't know what "nola" means, but if "bx" is short for the Bronx and that's the attitude prevalent there, it's no wonder the place has a less that savory reputation. I am not impressed (at least 99 percent of the time) by someone who would wrestle with a cop. There's a difference between being a merely a tough guy and being someone who is a stand up kind of guy, a straight shooter, if you will: Be honest, frank and ethical and know when to pick your battles, and once you do, be fearless.

Speaking as a Police Officer. An off duty Police Officer typically carries’s their credentials and is required to display them to anyone they are questioning, detaining, etc... It is also for the Officer's own safety to display their creds. Beside most Officers will leave things alone for on duty Officers to deal with unless there is a safety risk that cannot be ignored. If, you assault an off duty P.O. is still carry’s the same punishment as for an on duty. It is not about being a tough guy (childless thinking of course). It is about public safety in which this young lad displayed a lack of concern for. This lad also showed lack of respect for authority, safety and himself. Probably has no respect for his parents either but, maybe his parents are the same way.

Of course Tyler people like you just think cops just want to display their power 24/7. My down time is just that but, if I witness someone breaking the law, I am required to delay, deter or stop the act. Best to be a good witness but, sometimes the situation requires action. Oh BTW, if you show up at my front door you better have your official credential displayed!
Billie Amen to your comment.

.....Ppl like me don't think that ALL cops want to display their power 24/7. I just think that the cop who pulls over a 17 for a violation that would essentially be dropped to a parking ticket is deff not doing it to save the day. If it wasn't a 17 year old boy in that car...........but rather a 6' 6" inner city low life - who has no respect for human life - I'm wondering if the officer would have taken time out of his day to pull him over.

Clearly, when a police officer is on-duty, in uniform, displaying his or her badge, equipped with the weaponry, lethal and less lethal, provided by the department, and engaging in the performance of their law enforcement duties, there is no doubt that they are a police officer, and to be judged by the standards, laws, and rules applicable to law enforcement. Additionally, for purposes of federal civil rights liability, they act “under color” of state law.

But John, from a legal stand point, things are not as cut and dry as you make them out to be. There is plenty of case law, which states that off-duty officers can't just flash their badge in the event that they see a crime. For example these two incidents include officers being in the wrong for off-duty vehicle stops even when the citizen did something wrong. Both had to shill out beaucoup dollars.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ny-supreme-court-appellate-division/1281248…
http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=00-CV-958&s=OK%20%20%20%20%2…

Mr. Woodworth,
Are you a DOD cop or base security? When I worked there, neither had any off base authority.

Well John, I am a reservist for the 914 SFS. I am also a full-time civilian federal employee not assigned to the DoD. I work for the DAF and have been through the NYS Peace Officer. You are right about the SFS has no jurisdiction outside the base perimeter. My jurisdiction as DAFP is within federal lands that I may be assigned too and my ability to enforce outside the base perimeter is limited to felony crimes. You have been gone along time I am guessing.

BS Tyler maybe you should read the case law you cite before bringing it here. The first cited case was a transit authority cop vs another transit authority cop persuing each other after an altercation in a bar. Its even specifically cited both parties violated the law, and their intent was personal not professional, and no call was made for on duty assistance from any other law enforcement. Not really the same thing by even a stretch of reasoning.

In the second case no mention of an actual violation but there were 2 off duty officers, they made no attempt to call on duty officers, in fact they pulled the victims over at gunpoint then violated their rights beyond the legal scope that officers are allowed, they were even fired from the force (but in all fairness they were re-instated) so this one is also completely different circumstances as well.

So please try validating your opinion again with some relavant facts, or at least read your cited cases.......LOL

Tyler both cases you shown me have displayed wrongful use of force. Especially the second one where the off duty officer drew out their handgun. The first one was assault, unlawful imprisonment (where the other two officers surround the individual) and not mention involved alcohol. Also, the second case involves Oklahoma Laws which can be different than NYS Law. The cases show massive wrong doing on behalf of the off-duty officers. Even an on duty officer doesn't have the right to start punching someone for whatever traffic offends. So yes, they were acting outside their responsibilities.

This off-duty officer (from the main article) was merely speaking to and correcting the error this individual was conducting. I did not see any mention or medical report that the officer assaulted the individual. The article does not mention what or if force was used by the off-duty officer. So, to use the above case trials as example for the article is a tad over exasperated.

No I am not active duty military law enforcement. I have not been since 2003. I am a civilian police officer (GS-0083 Federal Police Officer). Hope that answer your question Howard. BTW I am still awaiting your answer for my question a few days ago but, do not worry Bea answered it for me. Thanks.

Mr. Woodworth,
Yes, it has been a long time. I was a full time with the 107th, when they had the nuclear weapons. We had police powers only on the base.

Oh, if you are remembering me when we met at the "Taste of Stafford" and saw me in my military uniform. That was because; the theme of the event was to Honor Stafford Military Veterans. That uniform I wear for my one weekend a month and two weeks a year. I was active duty for 7 years and join the reserves after they try to force me to join CE because; SP units were at the time supposedly 200% over manned.

First, I want to thank you for your service and a fellow SP. Trying to figure out if the 107TH is going to be removed. I hope not. You should stop by sometime, I will take you around the base. It has change a lot.

Howard the invite is extended to you. Since, you are also a fellow SP.

An off duty officer is still a sworn officer of the law and within his or her jurisdiction can make arrests, etc

Same holds true for Nurses - which brings me around to the reason why the officer stopped the 17 year old driver. One year isn't a very long time to gain enough experience behind the wheel of a car to be acting like speed racer.
Good fortune that the driver was stopped before an accident.

lol thank god for this fearless officer. if it wasn't for him, this idiot 17 year old prolly wouldve run into a school bus filled with preschoolers.

Exactly right Tyler or he could ran you over as you crossed the street.

Sure! :-) Though most of the reservist here would wonder what SAC is, lol. Those were the good old days. I remember SAC at Malmstrom which then became Space Command. I wish they bring it back. Things were cut and dry with less political BS compare to way things are in today's USAF. I wonder if, I could get you a flight on the C-130 during "Bosses Day". I will check and maybe you could do a story with the Wing Commander Colonel Schwartzmiller.

Brenda great point! Tyler you may want to read Brenda's comment. Maybe it could help you understand? Then again?

There are some cases that an Police Officer can detain or use deadly force outside their jurisdiction. Such as, if an Officer is witnessing an felony crime such as arson, rape, deadly force scenarios. These are crimes that one is obligated to get involved with because, of their extremely violent/deadly nature. Even a citizen can get involved and attempt to delay, deter or stop these acts. Though it still a thin line to cross.

I know...what if the guys who think this stop was a bunch of baloney sit with their ear cocked to the scanner for a month and listen to all the calls that go out about horrible drivers and the horrible crashes they get into. Better yet, study to become a medic and go on a few calls where people who drive offensively instead of defensively get to eat dirt along with their poor, hapless victims. It's not pretty my friend, nor is it very funny.

too many Military Acronym's for me haha

As for the story here , not trying to incite a comment war but how did the off duty officer know he was speeding , we recently had this discussion with UP and the Town of Alfred Police here at Alfred State because some people were being idiots and flying around town , and they were encouraging citizens to call in alleged speeders , but how can one judge if a person is speeding , the ticket can actually be thrown out of court if there is no radar evidence , i know there have been plenty of time people in my area called my stepdad (everyone in the area know him) and said I went flying past their home/business when I was actually doing the speed limit (I use the Cruise Control on my Vehicle constantly , otherwise I would be speeding) , this is just an example of how it could appear he was speeding when he wasnt

In this case though it is obvious the kid was up to no good

The speed limit on Main Street, incredibly, is only 30 mph. Safe to say if someone was "zooming" along at 50, it could be pretty easily discerned. If it was merely close, that's another story. I'd venture to say it must have been pretty blatant to go to all the extra effort.

If it was West Main Street Road, then it was in the Town of Batavia. The speed limit in the town is 55 on Rt 5, but goes to 45 closer to the city line. When you get near
Tops, where the name drops 'Road', and becomes 30 MPH.

Very savvy of you to point this out. So true! I forgot about that. Indeed it was the town because he was stopped at Read Road and West Main Street Road, just on the town's border with Pembroke. Well, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Speed Limit through East Pembroke (where Read Rd is) is 40 MPH , that is where I have been when people have called my stepfather to say I was flying by (I was doing 43) , On Read Rd itself the Speed Limit is 30 MPH

Daniel, this is just FYI but, all police officers are required to go to a RADAR/LIDAR course. First, they trained you to visibly measure someone's speed. This is because, RADAR/LIDAR is a tool used to validate your estimate on someone's speed. So, an officer can estimate one's speed with time and distance. Hope this answer your question.