Could an off-duty South Carolina town officer ticket a driver for speeding observed outside town?

Plain-English summary

A chief magistrate described an off-duty Williston police officer who followed a speeding car from outside the municipality and later issued a ticket. The 2000 informal opinion said the officer lacked authority to cite conduct he observed outside his municipal jurisdiction. The cited 35 mph zone lay outside that jurisdiction, and the statutory pursuit exception did not apply to an offense first observed beyond town limits. The AG said an off-duty officer who observed speeding within Williston could issue a citation.

The letter also separated two other questions from territorial authority. Whether the officer's short pacing distance and uncalibrated private car proved speed was a factual matter for the jury or magistrate. A different officer's ticket book raised a department policy question; the uniform-ticket statute did not require each officer to use only a personally assigned book.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. 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

Q: Could the officer ticket speeding he saw before entering Williston?
A: No. The AG said the officer's municipal authority did not extend to the place where he observed the cited offense.

Q: Did being off duty itself prevent a citation?
A: No. The letter said an off-duty officer could exercise the same police power and could cite speeding observed within his jurisdiction.

Q: Did the AG decide whether the officer's private car measured speed reliably?
A: No. It left the adequacy of the pacing evidence, including distance and calibration, to the fact finder.

Q: Did using another officer's ticket book invalidate the citation?
A: The AG treated that as a department policy matter. It found no requirement in the cited uniform-ticket statute that the officer use only his own book.

Background and statutory framework

The letter started from the usual territorial limit on municipal police authority and discussed a pursuit exception for offenses committed inside a municipality. It considered the separate authority of an ordinary citizen to arrest for specified serious offenses; the opinion said that authority did not cover a speeding misdemeanor. The source's factual account and the AG's legal conclusion concerned the cited speeding outside Williston.

Citations and references

• § 17-13-40, the municipal pursuit provision; § 17-13-10, the limited citizen-arrest provision.
• § 56-7-10, the uniform traffic ticket provision.
• State v. Harris and State v. McAteer, cited for jurisdiction and the limits on warrantless citizen arrests.

Official title

Regarding jurisdictional issues and other concerns relating to a traffic stop made by a Williston municipal police officer.

Requester

The Honorable A.W. Flynn, Chief Magistrate

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/september-15-2000/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/00sept15flynn.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHARLIE CONDON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

September 15, 2000

The Honorable A.W. Flynn
Chief Magistrate
P.O. Box 485
306 E. Main St.
Williston, SC 29853
Dear Judge Flynn:
Thank you for your letter of July 28, 2000 which has been referred to me for response. In yo.ur correspondence, you ask for an opinion from this office regarding jurisdictional issues and other concerns relating to a traffic stop made by a Williston municipal police officer. By way of background, you relate the following facts: that an off-duty Williston police officer was traveling in his private vehicle with his family from Aiken County back to Williston; that the officer observed, while still in Aiken County, a car approaching at a high rate of speed; that the officer attempted to pace this car with his own by driving approximately 75 mph; that the officer called Barnwell County dispatch and asked Williston County officers to be on the "lookout" for the speeding car; that the Williston officers were otherwise engaged in police business; that the driver then entered the city limits of Williston with the officer in pursuit; that the driver parked his car at a private residence Yi mile within the city limits; that the Williston officer called for back up; that two Williston police officers arrived on the scene; that the off-duty officer then issued a traffic citation to the driver using a ticket from the ticket book belonging to one of the on-duty officers citing the driver for traveling 65 mph in a 35 mph zone. The jurisdiction of a police officer, absent specific statutory authority, generally does not extend beyond the territorial limits of the municipality. State v. Harris, 299 S.C. 157, 159 (1989). An exception is found under S.C. Code Ann.§ 17-13-40 (A), through which an officer may extend his jurisdiction without election, appointment or request under the following condition: (A) When the police authorities of a town or city are in pursuit of an offender for a violation of a municipal ordinance or statute of this State committed within the corporate limits, the authorities may arrest the offender, with or without warrant,

Judge Flynn
Page 2of3
September 15, 2000
at a place within the corporate limits, at a place within the county in which the town or city is located, or at a place within a radius of three miles of the corporate limits.

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The officer, in this instance, was outside his municipality when he first observed the alleged speeding driver. The ticket he issued cited a 35 mph zone outside of his jurisdiction. With those facts, the officer did not have authority to issue a citation for conduct he observed outside of his jurisdiction. However, if the officer observed the driver speeding within his jurisdiction, whether on or off duty, he would have been able to issue a citation. An officer may arrest a person, without warrant, for an offense committed in his view. See 1990 S.C. QQ. A1!Y,. Gen. No. 90-48. An off-duty police officer may exercise the same police power as he has when on duty. See S.C. QQ. A!ty. Gen. April 3, 1975. A police officer's actions outside of his jurisdiction are lawful if they could be properly exercised by an ordinary citizen. State v. Harris, 299 S.C. 157, 159 (1989). S.C. Code Ann.§ 17-13-10 provides that any person may make a warrantless arrest under the following conditions:

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Upon (a) view of a felony committed, (b) certain information that a felony has been committed or (c) view of a larceny committed, any person may arrest the felon or thief and take him to a judge or magistrate, to be dealt with according to law. However, citation for a traffic offense does not fall within the parameters of§ 17-13-10. A speeding offense is classified as a misdemeanor under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-1520. A recent decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court addresses this issue by stating, "South Carolina recognizes no common law right of a citizen to arrest, without a warrant, for a misdemeanor." State v. McAteer, No. 25134, 2000 WL 694094 at *1 (S.C. May, 2000). In light of this decision and the aforementioned statutes, the officer in this instance was without the authority to cite the defendant for conduct observed outside of his jurisdiction. Again, however, if the officer had occasion to witness the defendant speeding within Williston city limits, he would have authority to issue a citation. You have also asked specifically about whether 3110 of a mile is sufficient distance to pace a car and whether an off-duty officer may use his personal vehicle to pace the speed of a car when the officer's car has not been properly calibrated for speed. Such questions are properly resolved by the fact finder within the discretion and judgment of the court. The officer could testify as to how he went about gauging the speed of the vehicle in question and if his vehicle was calibrated thereafter. The officer may also testify as to how long and how far he followed the defendant. Whether the evidence gathered by the officer is adequate to sustain the charge is a question of fact to be resolved by the jury or magistrate in this instance.

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Judge Flynn
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September 15, 2000
Your final question concerns the use of another officer's ticket book by the off-duty officer. S.C. Code Ann. § 56-7-10 provides that a "uniform traffic ticket" shall be used by all law enforcement officers in arrests for all traffic offenses. The Code does not specifically state an officer may only use his ticket book in order to issue a citation. Therefore, the question you pose is one of policy. The policy directives of the Williston Police Department would control. In contacting the police department, we learned it is common practice in that department for officers to use the ticket book of another officer.

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I hope the information contained herein proves helpful. This letter is an informal opinion only. It has been written by a designated Senior Assistant Attorney General and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the specific questions asked. It has not, however, been scrutinized by the Attorney General and not officially published in the manner of a formal op1mon.

lf}ours,

Robert D. Cook
Senior Assistant Attorney General