[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
East Pittsburgh as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. 1, Art. IX, §§ 1.153 to 1.156,
of the 1980 Code of Ordinances]
[Added 12-27-1993 by Ord.
No. 833]
A Police Department has previously been established by Borough
ordinance to operate under the direction and supervision of the Mayor.
[Added 12-27-1993 by Ord.
No. 833]
The Police Department shall be composed of a Chief of Police
and any other officers and patrolmen as have been or may be appointed
by the Council in accordance with the law, this Administrative Code
and any applicable labor agreements.
[Added 4-12-1982 by Ord.
No. 769; amended 12-27-1993 by Ord. No. 833]
There may be part-time officers. They shall serve upon call
of the Chief of Police and shall perform such duties as assigned and
designated by the Chief of Police. They shall receive compensation
whenever compensation is deemed payable. Such compensation is payable
at an hourly rate set by the Council. Part-time police officers shall
not be Civil Service employees.
[Added 12-27-1993 by Ord.
No. 833]
The Police Department shall establish, maintain and preserve
a system of filing and indexing records and reports in sufficient
detail in order to furnish all information necessary for proper control
of departmental activities and expenses and in order to form a basis
for periodic reports to the secretary and Mayor.
[Added 12-27-1993 by Ord.
No. 833]
The Police Department shall be responsible for all activities
relating but not limited to the following functions:
A. General preservation of public order.
B. Prevention and suppression of crime.
C. Apprehension of violators of the law.
D. Protection of life and property.
E. Traffic and pedestrian control and safety.
G. Maintenance of police records and files.
H. Operation of the Borough's lockup facilities if in operation
pursuant to Council direction.
I. Coordination of police programs and services with other agencies.
J. All other responsibilities and obligations that the Council or the
Mayor may from time to time assign consistent with this Administrative
Code, ordinances of the Borough and the law.
[Added 4-12-1971 by Ord.
No. 709]
The Borough finds that the efficiency of the Police Department
of the said Borough will be improved, with resultant benefits to the
citizens of the Borough, if the duties and responsibilities of the
various members of the Police Department be specified.
[Added 4-12-1971 by Ord.
No. 709]
The following duties are prescribed for performance by the various
classifications of officers, subject to such reasonable and lawful
rules and regulations as may be issued by the Mayor as to the manner
of their performance:
A. Chief. The Chief of Police is hereby constituted the chief executive
officer of the Police Department; he shall carry out the lawful instructions
of the Council in the performance of his duties.
B. Administrative duties. It shall be his responsibility to:
(1) Supervise the office and police force.
(2) Maintain good public relations with the members of the public, citizenry
and press.
(3) Coordinate the activities of his Department with those of the other
offices and officials of the Borough.
(4) Cooperate with other police agencies, local, county, state and national.
(5) Report all charges preferred against any officer, be present at their
investigation, and keep a record of the charge, evidence presented
and defense offered.
(6) Keep all arms, billies, belts, whistles, badges and other property
belonging to the Department and shall distribute the same as needed,
taking a receipt therefor from the officer to whom entrusted.
(7) Assign work shifts to the various members of the police force and
supervise vacation schedules, all subject to the approval of the Police
Committee of the Council.
(8) He shall render a monthly report to the Council in such form as the
Council shall prescribe.
C. Supervisory duties. In the performance of his supervisory duties,
it shall be his responsibility to:
(1) Detail such orders to the members of the police force as may be necessary
to carry out the instructions of the Mayor as to the manner of the
performance of their duties.
(2) Inspect all members of the police force from time to time, supervise
their general conduct, observe their performance of duty, and report
the same to the Mayor and Council, when requested, with such recommendations
as he may deem advisable.
(3) Require subordinate officers to report on duty wearing the approved
uniform.
(4) Receive and examine the report of the Lieutenant of Police and other
officers when rendered, and submit the same to the Mayor.
(5) Investigate or cause to be investigated any and all crimes reportedly
committed within the Borough.
(6) Report personally, or assign proper personnel to the scene of, any
alleged felony and investigate the same and, in the instance of murder
or suspected murder, take charge of the premises, eject all unauthorized
parties, place men in charge and submit himself and his officers to
the orders of the Coroner.
(7) Report promptly, when able, to all serious fires, explosions, disasters,
riots or other tumultuous assemblages within the Borough, assume command
of the police officers there present, protect property, dispel all
crowds if necessary and cause the arrest of any person refusing to
take orders, disturbing the peace or inciting others so to do.
(8) To receive notification from personnel who find it impossible to
perform duty as originally scheduled to report the same to the Police
Committee of the Council, and, if it be considered necessary by the
Police Committee, call the person designated by that Committee as
a replacement for the member of the Department unable to work.
[Amended 3-8-1982 by Ord.
No. 769]
(9) Except in cases of emergency or arrest, he shall permit one other-than-uniformed
personnel to ride in the police car and shall be responsible for the
proper maintenance of the car.
(10) He shall assist the members of the police in the preparation and
prosecution of all complaints filed and shall attend all hearings
relative to such complaints except when specifically excused by the
Police Committee of the Council.
(11) Carry out all duties imposed upon him by law.
A. Each of the Lieutenants of Police shall be in direct charge of the
men on duty during the particular shift of each of the said Lieutenants.
B. The Lieutenants of Police shall be assigned proper shifts so that
as often as possible a Lieutenant of Police will be on duty when the
Chief is not. When neither the Chief nor a Lieutenant is on duty,
the senior member of the force on duty will act as Lieutenant.
C. The Lieutenant of Police shall supervise the activities of the patrolmen
on duty during his shift and shall daily submit to the Chief of Police
a written report or summary of the Department's police activities
occurring during his shift, citing the number of arrests, the identities
of those arrested, the nature of the charges, by whom arrested, and
a resume of the circumstances.
D. The Lieutenant of Police shall perform such other duties as shall
be assigned to him by his superior officers and which shall be consistent
with his position of Lieutenant of Police.
[Added 4-12-1971 by Ord.
No. 709]
It shall be the duty of every patrolman to report on duty in
uniform at all reasonable times scheduled and to promptly and obediently
carry out his assigned beat and patrol and such lawful orders as may
be issued to him by the Chief of Police or Lieutenant of Police on
duty. He shall perform this duty in a manner in compliance with the
regulations and orders issued by the Mayor.
[Added 4-12-1982 by Ord.
No. 769]
The Police Committee of the Council shall from time to time
as the Borough's economic situation requires fix the total hours
to be worked by the police force as a whole for any one week and shall
designate the number of police who shall be on duty during each shift
and day.
[Added 4-12-1982 by Ord.
No. 769]
Parking tickets or other tickets for violation of Borough ordinances
issued by members of the police force or other duly authorized Borough
personnel shall be on forms prescribed by the Council. Copies of such
tickets shall be distributed as follows:
A. One copy to the violator;
B. One copy to the Chief of Police;
C. One copy to the Police Committee of the Council;
[Added 4-12-1971 by Ord.
No. 709]
Nothing herein contained shall derogate from the authority conferred
upon the Mayor in cases of emergency.
[Adopted 9-16-2008 by Ord. No. 885]
This article shall be known as the "Warrantless Arrest Guideline
Ordinance."
Police officers acting in East Pittsburgh Borough shall hereinafter
be authorized to make an arrest without a warrant pursuant to the
guidelines authorized by 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8902. Officers may
make an arrest without a warrant when the following statutory requirements
are met.
A. The officer must have probable cause that one of the four following
listed offenses is involved:
(2) Public drunkenness or similar misconduct;
(3) Obstructing highways or other public property or rights-of-way.
(4) The purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor,
malt or brewed beverages.
B. The conduct of the defendant must be ongoing.
C. The conduct constituting the offense is within the officer's
view.
D. The conduct of the defendant imperils the personal security of any
person or endangers public or private property.
After making an arrest without a warrant pursuant to this article
and Section 8902, supra, the officer shall follow and comply with Rule 71,
Procedures for Arrest Without Warrant, of the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure.
If any portion of this article is found to be illegal or unconstitutional,
it is the intent of the Council that it would have enacted the balance
of the article irrespective of the invalid portion.
It is the intent of this article to give the most full and comprehensive
arrest powers to Police Officers acting within the Borough as the
cited statute permits.
This article shall take effect immediately.