Houston Police in Sealy

[fishman]

It was a chase, A ford F250. It ended at hwy 36 just passed hwy 3013 in a field. Thats all I know.

[Keith B]

It was a chase, A ford F250. It ended at hwy 36 just passed hwy 3013 in a field. Thats all I know.

Most agencies have a standing agreement to allow pursuits that start in their jurisdiction to proceed. Depending on the agreement, they may require a verbal approval as they are heading into the other agencies jurisdiction. It can also depend on what the pursuit is for (murder suspect or speeder for instance) on whether they are allowed to continue or must call it off.

[puma guy]

It was a chase, A ford F250. It ended at hwy 36 just passed hwy 3013 in a field. Thats all I know.

Very interesting. As we neared Weimer a SO blew past us lit up and went north on 155. Further along there was a DPS and a couple more SO and a Weimer PD staged west of Weimer. I assumed there was probably a robbery or something in Weimer that got all the activity going. Looks like it could be related??? I didn't see anything in the media related to a chase that must have initiated in Houston if indeed the two are related.

[srothstein]

What jurisdiction or authority would Houston have three counties from home?

The legal question is what authority he would have. Jurisdiction is the area he has authority in.

And Texas has some interesting laws on this. A peace officer may arrest anywhere in the state for any crime committed in his presence or view, well almost. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.03(g) limits the authority of a some peace officers. The general authority for arrest covers the state like a blanket in Article 14.01. Then along comes 14.03(g) and a sheriff, constable, or D.A. Investigator is limited to the county they are employed in (or counties if the district is multiple counties). A municipal police officer is also limited to the counties that the city is located in. And here is the real kicker - the limit is only for offenses that are class C misdemeanors under Subtitle C of the Transportation Code. That means they cannot make regular traffic stops outside their county. But any other officer - say a school district officer or DPS trooper - may make the traffic stop anywhere in the state.

And, when applied to the case under discussion, it means a Houston officer can make an arrest for a chase anywhere in the state since that is a felony. But the traffic stop can only legally be made in a county that Houston has annexed part of. No interlocal agreements are needed and there is doubt about the legality of any trying to extend authority.

The court case that caused this to be modified last is the Kurtz case. An officer from Plano made a traffic stop and ended up arresting Mathew Kurtz for DWI. But the middle of the street was the border between Plano and Frisco. The court said that the officer was outside of his jurisdiction and could not make the arrest. And to get to that, this is the case that says a traffic stop is an arrest. I strongly recommend people read the actual court ruling on this for themselves.

The history of the authority and jurisdiction question is a long one. There is no definition of an officer's jurisdiction (as it applies to geographical area) in the Penal Code or Code of Criminal Procedure. Back in the 1987 there was a court case (Angel) that said an officer's jurisdiction was the county he was commissioned in. this stood for years. In 1995, article 14.03(g) was added and limited an officer to his jurisdiction - which was still not defined. In 2004, Kurtz was decided as above, so the wording of the law was changed to add the county as an area of authority.

So, I cannot explain a Houston officer stopping a truck in Sealy, but running code to help in a chase is legal.

[apostate]

But any other officer - say a school district officer or DPS trooper - may make the traffic stop anywhere in the state.

Perhaps that explains what that Santa Fe ISD coptruck was doing in the Galleria area last week.

[SRH78]

+1 to the long list of things I have been wrong about

Glad to see we have the real answer now. Hopefully no officers or innocents were injured.

[howdy]

I was on an EMS call (I am a Paramedic) and our drugged up patient was getting mean. The Constable on scene made an "officer needs assistance" call and within a short time we had Sheriff Deputies, DPS, School District Police, Houston Police, AND Katy Police. I was impressed. We were in the unincorporated part of Harris County.

[sugar land dave]

Are there possibly some Homeland Security concerns of which the public is not made aware? Things have changed greatly since 2001.

[mkosmo]

It was a chase, A ford F250. It ended at hwy 36 just passed hwy 3013 in a field. Thats all I know.

I know I'm late to the party, but this was in fact a pursuit that made it all the way out there.

[puma guy]

It was a chase, A ford F250. It ended at hwy 36 just passed hwy 3013 in a field. Thats all I know.

I know I'm late to the party, but this was in fact a pursuit that made it all the way out there.

Any details? Since I saw them going to and coming back from Schulenberg it obviuosly lastd several hours.