I was headed to Annapolis today when a black Suburban with New Jersey plates came up behind me. It was being escorted by two motorcycle cops which also had New Jersey plates. They had their emergency lights on and the cop in the front had his siren on. They were traveling slightly above the speed limit. I continued to Annapolis while they took the exit to head toward D.C.

What is the law concerning this situation? Do people have to get out of the way? We had just come through a three mile backup due to an accident. If it was Christie in the Suburban and I knew the cops didn't have any pull, I could have made him wait like the rest of us.

No. Don't get out of the way of those jurisdiction hopping SOBs. It is a constitutional violation to put on your lights in another state. You might want to consider a 1983 suit for violating your civil rights.

In general, law enforcement, as well as courts (judges) have no more authority or rights outside of their jurisdiction than any civilian. That is just a basic fact of our judicial system.

However, I am not knowledgeable about common practices in this area, and I imagine it could be possible for LEOs outside of their jurisdiction to be given temporary authority, as in "being deputized". I have no idea if that is the case or not. Most likely they may be tolerated as common courtesy, but would not have any arrest powers.

You often see it in college football games, as head coaches are usually escorted by a state policeman from their home state. Same issue, but I don't have a definitive answer.

If they were Feds of some kind I doubt the lic. issuing state limits their authority.
Carl

I vehemently despise police escorts for famous or important people.

Funerals, ambulance with critical patient, etc. is cool. Some pompous son-of-a-bitch...he/she can suffer like the rest of us.

I don't care who they are. Fly or sit your ass in traffic. I guess you can take the HOV lane since your security guard is driving.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
I vehemently despise police escorts for famous or important people.

Funerals, ambulance with critical patient, etc. is cool. Some pompous son-of-a-bitch...he/she can suffer like the rest of us.

I don't care who they are. Fly or sit your ass in traffic. I guess you can take the HOV lane since your security guard is driving.

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Not all federal law enforcement vehicles have federal plates. It could have been federal LE escorting a federal VIP.

And even if they were state vehicles escorting a state VIP, sometimes a phone call is all it takes to get the right permission.

This was within jurisdiction but it still pissed me off. I was passed by an Iowa State Trooper lights on and a campaign bus followed by another State Trooper at a very high rate of speed on US Highway 151 near Marion, Iowa. Slick Willy was on board after he was out of office and must have been late for a haircut on the Cedar Rapids Airport runway. I realize as past President he receives special security treatment but 90 per on a 55 mph road endangered both him and others that were traveling that day.

I know some Fed. agencies have vehicles with state plates. While the vehicle may have a state plate the person driving it may not be limited in jurisdiction.

Who knows who was driving though. Could have been some d-bag or a legit reason.

BTW did you get stuck in that huge mess on route 50? Heard about on my drive that morning. Seemed like a huge mess.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:

BTW did you get stuck in that huge mess on route 50? Heard about on my drive that morning. Seemed like a huge mess.

No, I was traveling in the afternoon and got stuck on I97. The Waze app told me to go a different way but I ignored it.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
I vehemently despise police escorts for famous or important people.

Funerals, ambulance with critical patient, etc. is cool. Some pompous son-of-a-bitch...he/she can suffer like the rest of us.

I don't care who they are. Fly or sit your ass in traffic. I guess you can take the HOV lane since your security guard is driving.

Those party lights on top of the car are for "emergency". Funerals should not receive a police escort, except in very rare circumstances. This is extremely dangerous, and the practice needs to be stopped. Funerals have the ability to have "right of way" to all other traffic. This includes running red lights etc. This leads to collisions. One of these days it will lead to a fatal collision. In the days that funeral right of ways laws were written, yeah, I could see it. Today, it is going to lead to a fatality that doesn't need to be.

Oh, and guess what? The police leading the escort are going to be part of the lawsuit.

At the end of the service, tell the congregation that everyone will meet graveside in 45 minutes to conclude the service.

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
...I was passed by an Iowa State Trooper lights on and a campaign bus followed by another State Trooper at a very high rate of speed on US Highway 151 near Marion, Iowa. Slick Willy was on board after he was out of office and must have been late for a haircut on the Cedar Rapids Airport runway. ....

HAHAH I forgot that Slick WIlly was here in Wilson during the last election....and you are right his presence really jacked up the traffic that day....not to mention that it was F'in hot that day and standing out in traffic for Hillary's husband sucked

I agree with the general sentiment, they can spend the time the rest of us do getting from point A to point B. Double that for people like Pervez Musharraf who used to come to Texas for medical treatment. He'd land in Dallas and go to Greenville. Every friggin overpass between Dallas and Greenville along I30 would be blocked off by State Troopers while he was police escorted to and from.

quote:

Funerals should not receive a police escort, except in very rare circumstances. This is extremely dangerous, and the practice needs to be stopped. Funerals have the ability to have "right of way" to all other traffic. This includes running red lights etc. This leads to collisions. One of these days it will lead to a fatal collision. In the days that funeral right of ways laws were written, yeah, I could see it. Today, it is going to lead to a fatality that doesn't need to be.

I will disagree with you regarding "right of way" police escort of funerals within communities. Our police escorts are motorcycle cops who leap-frog ahead to intersections to stop traffic before the lead car arrives and they stay at the intersections until the last car has passed.

On two-lane roads, including highways, counter traffic pulls off to the side until the entire funeral procession has passed. We view this as a common show of respect.

I cannot recall a single incident in which a traffic accident was caused because of this practice. We are have a population of roughly 9,000, which may account for the lack of accidents. However, I have seen this on two-lane lane roads even in larger cities such as Baton Rouge.

.

quote:

Originally posted by redleg2/9:

quote:

Funerals should not receive a police escort, except in very rare circumstances. This is extremely dangerous, and the practice needs to be stopped. Funerals have the ability to have "right of way" to all other traffic. This includes running red lights etc. This leads to collisions. One of these days it will lead to a fatal collision. In the days that funeral right of ways laws were written, yeah, I could see it. Today, it is going to lead to a fatality that doesn't need to be.

I will disagree with you regarding "right of way" police escort of funerals within communities. Our police escorts are motorcycle cops who leap-frog ahead to intersections to stop traffic before the lead car arrives and they stay at the intersections until the last car has passed.

On two-lane roads, including highways, counter traffic pulls off to the side until the entire funeral procession has passed. We view this as a common show of respect.

I cannot recall a single incident in which a traffic accident was caused because of this practice. We are have a population of roughly 9,000, which may account for the lack of accidents. However, I have seen this on two-lane lane roads even in larger cities such as Baton Rouge.

.

I'm so glad that your police have nothing better to do than escort funerals, so much so that they can assign multiple motor officers to a escort. We run call to call to call doing actual police stuff.

However, in the real world, our agency would need four to six full time officers to do what you say your police are doing. And I am talking that is all they do is escorts from funeral homes. One roadway that is commonly used by three or four funeral homes sees average traffic of 32,000 cars per day. With the peak being between 0600-0900 and 1500-1800. Funerals don't schedule themselves around these peak times. So you get people trying to get over and merge into one of the other lanes to let the officer with his lights on through, which causes collisions. Then you get the ones in the precession that don't keep up, and then they try to blow through the red light to keep up, causing accidents.

The function of the police is not to escort funerals. Sorry.

Like I said, disagree if you wish, but in the real world, funeral escorts need to go away for the safety of those on the roadways. You can also disagree with me on "right of way" as you'd like, but here is in part the statue on it.

A vehicle in a funeral procession has the right-of-way at an intersection and may proceed through the intersection if the procession is led by an escort vehicle displaying flashing yellow, red, or blue lights, except:
(a) When the right-of-way is required by an emergency vehicle as defined by KRS 189.910;
(b) When vehicles in the procession are directed otherwise by a police or safety officer; or
(c) When the vehicle is a train or locomotive.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:

quote:

Originally posted by redleg2/9:

quote:

Funerals should not receive a police escort, except in very rare circumstances. This is extremely dangerous, and the practice needs to be stopped. Funerals have the ability to have "right of way" to all other traffic. This includes running red lights etc. This leads to collisions. One of these days it will lead to a fatal collision. In the days that funeral right of ways laws were written, yeah, I could see it. Today, it is going to lead to a fatality that doesn't need to be.

I will disagree with you regarding "right of way" police escort of funerals within communities. Our police escorts are motorcycle cops who leap-frog ahead to intersections to stop traffic before the lead car arrives and they stay at the intersections until the last car has passed.

On two-lane roads, including highways, counter traffic pulls off to the side until the entire funeral procession has passed. We view this as a common show of respect.

I cannot recall a single incident in which a traffic accident was caused because of this practice. We are have a population of roughly 9,000, which may account for the lack of accidents. However, I have seen this on two-lane lane roads even in larger cities such as Baton Rouge.

.

I'm so glad that your police have nothing better to do than escort funerals, so much so that they can assign multiple motor officers to a escort. We run call to call to call doing actual police stuff.

However, in the real world, our agency would need four to six full time officers to do what you say your police are doing. And I am talking that is all they do is escorts from funeral homes. One roadway that is commonly used by three or four funeral homes sees average traffic of 32,000 cars per day. With the peak being between 0600-0900 and 1500-1800. Funerals don't schedule themselves around these peak times. So you get people trying to get over and merge into one of the other lanes to let the officer with his lights on through, which causes collisions. Then you get the ones in the precession that don't keep up, and then they try to blow through the red light to keep up, causing accidents.

The function of the police is not to escort funerals. Sorry.

Like I said, disagree if you wish, but in the real world, funeral escorts need to go away for the safety of those on the roadways. You can also disagree with me on "right of way" as you'd like, but here is in part the statue on it.

A vehicle in a funeral procession has the right-of-way at an intersection and may proceed through the intersection if the procession is led by an escort vehicle displaying flashing yellow, red, or blue lights, except:
(a) When the right-of-way is required by an emergency vehicle as defined by KRS 189.910;
(b) When vehicles in the procession are directed otherwise by a police or safety officer; or
(c) When the vehicle is a train or locomotive.

No, this is all your opinion and just that. Ensuring a orderly flow of traffic IS part of a cops job. With a large funeral procession the chance of issues coming up (crashes, bad tempers etc) is greatly reduced by have a LEO present.
I guess you think a cop directing traffic is not part of his job either? Why do you think lights are for emergencies only? They are a method of getting attention period.
Temporary construction zone traffic control, lights on to attract driver attention and let them know something is going on.
In no world is trimming branches an "emergency".

People die every year during funeral escorts.

Unfortunately, usually those people are police officers blocking the traffic. Every year names go up on the memorial wall from it.

I agree, when the laws were written traffic was different in most places. Our laws allow for funeral processions to run red lights if the lead car goes into the intersection on a green and it changes. I agree with allowing the family respect, and with pulling over and stopping if it's safe, but crossing intersections against traffic in an 18 lane intersection is insane.

I'd be interested to hear some of your actual statistics, if mine is sheer opinion.

Question as I am truly curious. How do you think that it was is "safer" with LE leading the procession when they are already through the intersection and over the next hill when a straggler crosses into a intersection because he has been told he has this magical right of way and gets T boned. This idea that cops drop what they are doing and send three or four units to an escort is crazy. They get one car that leads it, when they get that. That's it. And when the back of the pack gets hit in an intersection, the cops get sued. Yep, that's just what I want. Someone who is already emotional behind the wheel with a sense of magical invincibility because they have their emergency flashers on. Great idea. The taxpayers just shouldn't have to pay for this. It is a bad deal all the way around.

Really curious to hear this. How exactly is it safer? Seeing that my actual experience is"opinion" and you guys have the actual facts. I am also curious how many funeral escorts you guys do in a weeks time, Pete.

Please do tell.

All that "trimming branches" BS needs to have someone other than LE that's why they make yellow flashing lights. When LE does it, at least around here, it is an off duty gig and the tree trimmers pay for the officer to be there, and it does not affect the holding calls of the guys that are out actually doing police work. People whine about cops not actually doing the job but are totally fine with their own special interest being catered to. Facts be damned. Liability reduction is a large thing in the world today. One doesn't get to create an unsafe situation and then complain that the cops "aren't doing their jobs". Simplest way is to meet graveside and not create the liability in the first place. Not take officers away from the rest of the jurisdiction waiting on their call to be answered. Aside from the emotion, there are no valid reasons to have funeral per session.

You just don't get to create an unsafe traffic hazard, and call on the police to fix it claiming "part of the job" when the actual "part of the job" is eliminating the traffic hazard all together.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
It is a constitutional violation to put on your lights in another state.

Where does it say that in the constitution? I would argue the opposite, that if a man wants to flash lights and make noise with a siren, anywhere in American, that he would be afforded that opportunity due to his constitutional rights. In the convoy scenario above, they are not using the lights/sirens to detain anyone, just to inform others to their presence and ask them to move aside so they could get by.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
It is a constitutional violation to put on your lights in another state.

Where does it say that in the constitution? I would argue the opposite, that if a man wants to flash lights and make noise with a siren, anywhere in American, that he would be afforded that opportunity due to his constitutional rights. In the convoy scenario above, they are not using the lights/sirens to detain anyone, just to inform others to their presence and ask them to move aside so they could get by.

I think that was sarcasm, dude. At least that is how I read it in context with everything else he wrote.