[Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Porter 11-11-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The title to this chapter shall be "A local law establishing
a Town Constabulary for the Town of Porter, a Town of the second class
that has no police department."
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health,
safety, and welfare in the Town of Porter. It is to establish the
Town of Porter as a constabulary and to create the office of Town
Constable as authorized by § 2.10 of the Criminal Procedure
Law of the State of New York and § 20, Subdivision I, of
the Town Law of the State of New York, to perform such duties at the
direction of the Supervisor, Town Board and/or Town Justices for the
Justice Court of the Town of Porter as allowed by the laws of the
State of New York.
New York State Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) Section 2.10, Subdivision
(1), sets forth those persons who are peace officers, specifically
including a constable of a Town, provided such designation is not
inconsistent with local law. The office of Town Constable is expressly
authorized by § 20(1) of the Town Law.
As peace officers, constables in the Town of Porter must be
trained in accordance with § 2.30 of the CPL and any other
requirements set forth by the Town Board and/or the Constable-In-Charge
or equivalencies as determined by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice
Services (DCJS) and the Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC).
Town Law Section 39 and CPL 2.20 give the Town of Porter Constabulary
the following powers and allow the performance of the following duties:
A.
Make
warrantless arrests pursuant to § 140.25 of the CPL.
B.
Use
physical force and deadly physical force in making an arrest or preventing
an escape pursuant to § 35.30 of the Penal Law.
C.
To
carry out warrantless searches whenever such searches are constitutionally
permissible and acting pursuant to their special duties,
D.
To
issue appearance tickets pursuant to Subdivision 3 of § 150.20
of the CPL, when acting pursuant to their special duties.
E.
To
issue uniform appearance tickets and simplified traffic information
pursuant to § 100.25 of the CPL and § 207 of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL), when acting pursuant to their special
duties.
F.
To
issue a uniform navigation summons and/or complaint pursuant to § 19
of the Navigation Law whenever acting pursuant to their special duties.
G.
To
issue uniform appearance tickets pursuant to Article 71 of the Environmental
Conservation Law when acting pursuant to their special duties.
H.
To
possess and take custody of firearms not owned by the peace officers,
for the purpose of disposing, guarding, or any other lawful purpose,
consistent with his or her duties as a peace officer.
I.
Exercise
any other power which a particular peace officer is otherwise authorized
to exercise by any general (federal or state), special or local law
or charter whenever acting pursuant to his or her special duties,
provided such power is not inconsistent with the provisions of the
Penal Law or the Criminal Procedure Law, including but not limited
to:
(1)
Protecting private, public and commercial property in the Town of
Porter from vandalism and illegal trespassing.
(2)
Controlling crowds at any public function within the Town of Porter.
(3)
Attending proceedings of the Justice Court so as to maintain order,
assist the justices and those who have business before the court.
(4)
Attending meetings at the Town Hall as necessary to maintain order
and to remove disorderly persons from such meetings.
(5)
Serve and/or execute legal papers on behalf of the Town Board and/or
the Justice Court.
(6)
Providing security for the Tax Collector and other Town officials
as requested.
(7)
Guard the election polls.
(8)
Escorting prisoners to jail and to court, and having them processed.
A constable, whether or not acting pursuant to his special duties,
who lawfully exercises any of the powers conferred upon him or her
pursuant to § 2.30 of the CPL shall be deemed to be acting
within the scope of his or her public employment for purposes of defense
and indemnification rights and benefits that he or she may be otherwise
entitled to under provisions of § 50-K of the General Municipal
Law, § 17 or § 18 of the Public Officers Law,
or any other applicable section of law.
Pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(I)(ii)(a)(l),
local governments have the authority to enact local laws regarding
qualifications of local officers. It is the purpose of this section
to modify the requirements of § 23 of the Town Law and § 3
of the Public Officers Law, which sections require that the Constable
be a resident and elector within the Town. This section shall supersede
Town Law § 23(l) in its application to the offices of Constable
for the Town of Porter. The person holding the office of Constable
in the Town of Porter need not be a resident nor an elector of the
Town of Porter; provided, however, that such person shall reside in
Niagara County or an adjoining county within the State of New York.·
