Could Gramercy’s police chief appoint unpaid auxiliary officers and create a police taxing district alone?

Plain-English summary

Gramercy’s elected police chief asked whether unpaid volunteer auxiliary officers needed Board of Aldermen approval and how he could create a law enforcement taxing district for the town. The AG said auxiliary officers, paid or unpaid, required board approval as police personnel after the chief’s recommendation. It noted their law enforcement powers and possible municipal liability for misuse. The AG found no authority for a police chief to create the proposed district; it cited the statute creating parish law enforcement districts for sheriffs’ financing.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the chief appoint unpaid auxiliary officers without board approval?
No. The opinion said volunteer officers were police personnel and required board approval.

Did unpaid status eliminate the concern?
No. The AG noted trained auxiliary officers could exercise peace-officer powers and that misuse could create municipal liability.

Could the chief create a law enforcement taxing district?
The AG said it found no authority for a police chief to create such a district.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied R.S. 33:2201 and prior AG opinions on auxiliary officers, and cited R.S. 33:9001 on parish law enforcement districts established for sheriff financing.

Citations and references

• The legal authorities discussed appear in the reproduced opinion below.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0109

Original opinion text

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
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P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (504) 342-7013
RICHARD P. |E¥OUB
70804-9005
FAX: (504) 342-2090
ATTORNEY GENERAL

APR 0 5 Z00Z
OPINION 02-10P
60- Law Officers
77- Officers
R.S. 33:2201

Uncompensated aux~iary ofr=:ers must have approval of the Board
Mr. Kenny P. Poche
of~, A Chief of Police cannot
Chief of Police
create a Law Enfomement I~
P.O. Drawer 340
Gramercy, LA 70052

Dear Chief Poche:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to establishment of volunteer auxiliary deputies, and a law enforcement taxing district.

You indicate you realize under the Lawrason Act the Chief of Police must make a recomm~~ to the Board of Aldermen and obtain approval before hiring and firing full- time or part-time deputies which are town employees, but question if this approval is necessary for volunteers donating their time to the police department thereby receiving no pay or employment benefits.

You also ask what is the procedure for an elected Chief of Police to create a law enforcement taxing district for the Town of Gramercy to help fund the operations of the police department.
in Atty. Gen. Op. 00-159 this oft’K:e previously responded to you on this issue noting that in accordance with R.S. 33:2201 that reserve or auxiliary officers who have completed training have the same authority as an ordinary peace officer and may carry concealed weapons when in discharge of official duties. It was further pointed out that a special police officer using unnecessary force or unlawful use Of police powers during the performance of his duty renders the municipality as employer liable for resulting injuries or damage. Accordingly, it was stated, "Therefore, in regard to an auxiliary law enforcement offk~, whether compensated or not, we must conclude the appointment must have the approval of the Board as other police personnel."

This conclusion is consistent with Atty. Gen. Op. 99-48 wherein this office stated that all employees Of the police department "including part-time and auxiliary off’mers" are included in the term "police personnel", and the elected chief of police shall make recommendations to the mayor and board of aldermen for appointment of police personnel.

Page 2

Chief Kenny P. Poche
OPINION 02-109
Page 2

In response to your second question on "the procedure for an elected Chief of Police to create a law enforcement taxing district to help fund the operations of the police department", we find no authority for such a district being created by a Chief of Police. As pointed out by this office in Atty. Gen. Op. 01-06 Law Enforcement Districts are political subdivisions of the State, and R.S. 33:9001 creates in each parish except Orleans a special district to be known as a law enforcement district for the purpose of "providing financing to the office of sheriff" of the parish.

We hope this sufficiently responds to your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/bbr