I can only tell you the law of this state (Ohio) seems to be directed toward urging the public to give reasonable assistance to police officers in the apprehension of fleeing suspects:

"2921.23 Failure to aid a law enforcement officer.
"(A) No person shall negligently fail or refuse to aid a law enforcement officer, when called upon for assistance in preventing or halting the commission of an offense, or in apprehending or detaining an offender, when such aid can be given without a substantial risk of physical harm to the person giving it.
"(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of failure to aid a law enforcement officer, a minor misdemeanor."

But be careful lest you go too far in our fair Buckeye State:

"3761.03 Damages in case of lynching.
"A person assaulted and lynched by a mob may recover, from the county in which such assault is made, a sum of not to exceed five hundred dollars; or, if the injury received therefrom is serious, a sum of not to exceed one thousand dollars; or, if such injury results in permanent disability to earn a livelihood by manual labor, a sum of not to exceed five thousand dollars."

and:

"3761.07 County's right of action against member of mob.
"The county, in which a lynching occurs, may recover from any of the persons composing a mob the amount of a judgment and costs rendered against it, under sections 3761.01 to 3761.10, inclusive, of the Revised Code, in favor of the legal representatives of a person killed or seriously injured by such mob. A person present, with hostile intent, at a lynching is a member of the mob and is liable under this section."

So there.


Frank2135

Martin,

As far as California goes, in addition to Penal Code section 150, you may want to check out section 830.6(c), it says:
"Whenever any person is summoned to the aid of any uniformed peace officer, the summoned person is vested with the powers of a peace officer that are expressly delegated to him or her by the summoning officer or that are otherwise reasonably necessary to properly assist the officer."

On a practical level, in over 18 years of law enforcement experience covering courts, jail, patrol, riots (Remember Rodney?), and natural disasters, I have never nor have I ever heard of anyone deputizing a private citizen.

An interesting sidenote is Calif. Code of Civil Procedure section 211:
"When a court has no prospective jurors remaining available for voir dire from panels furnished by the jury commissioner...the court may direct the Sheriff to summon, serve, and immediately attach the person of a sufficient number of citizens having the qualifications of jurors, to complete the panel."

So you could be sitting in Starbucks enjoying your iced latte, and one of my partners could walk up and say, "Guess what? You're now on a Jury panel!"

part 1: I didn't think so, but I live in PA, not CA, I can't find anything like a LEO "deputizing" anyone.

part 2: I just served jury duty and there was a newpaper clipping, which I later found online about just what you say:

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=05-22-02&storyID=12115

These "instant" jury duty summonses was news to me, but I sort of chuckled, thinking to myself, "I wonder which one is less likely to happen, to be deputized or to be served a summons on the street for jury duty?" I figured that both would be one of those events you'd never see in your lifetime.

But funny thing, I just ran across this news article that describes exactly that scenario, with deputies handing out summonses at a Wal-Mart. The article says that less than half of people sent jury duty notices actually serve. Besides deliberate no-shows, that number includes those excused for various reasons, those ineligible, and for notices sent to old addresses. But it sounds like many jurisdictions do face a problem with a thin supply of jurors. Since I just did my jury duty a week ago (was on a jury panel but was excused during voir dire), it's a topic sort of near to my heart at the moment.

In Oklahoma a "Peace Officer" can request assistance from an adult, the adult then becomes an agent of the officer's department or agency for the action requested. Say in making an arrest of a person, or helping get the word out that there is a fire in the building.

I do not know the legal ramifications IF that person gets hurt, but in Oklahoma, once again there is the good samaritan law that allows an individual to assist others (like giving first-aid or cpr) with out worry of civil litigation if they injure a person while helping them.

Only the "Sherrif" could legally "Deputize" a person. Peace officers in Oklahoma can be Sherrif's, deputies, police officers, rangers, agents, special agents, etc....

Two things of note here:

LEOs running around conscripting citizens for jury duty is yet another good reason for me to keep an out of state driver's license on hand.

What does the LEO do if he solicits aid from a conscientious objector, who is unwilling to use physical force against another person? I would say the jurisdiction would be pre-empted from prosecuting the would-be derelict due to a violation of his civil rights, much the same as restrictions against drafting c-o's into the army.

My guess would be that if a LEO is in such deep doodoo that he has to "deputize" some passing citizen, and the citizen just keeps on walking, the last thing the LEO is going to be able to do is go after the citizen for failing to assist him, since the LEO already has more on his hands than he can handle...

Yep, I'd tend to agree with that. I can imagine it would not fare well to happen across that LEO later and have him recognize you going by. Might not have such a pleasant conversation then...

Jury duty is a CIVIL matter. In Oklahoma it is via mailed subpoena. Also the Sherrif's department is responsible for enforcing CIVIL matters, such as property issues.

Also usually in Oklahoma, if people see the police need help, they help.