• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • Improve your pistol-handling skills
      What you need to know about automatic license plate readers
      Do cops need more training?
      Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner
      Seeking the right kind of help
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Heroic K-9 unit honored at National Dog Show for role in capturing...
        NYPD reports surge in hate crimes against New York’s Jewish...
        Law enforcement cracks down on illegal sale of “gas station...
        “He went above and beyond” Port Authority K-9 sergeant honored
        Officer–K-9 duo makes remarkable drug capture
    • Labor
      • Massachusetts State Police intense training academy faces...
        Privacy and public records concerns
        The police officer shortage
        Henderson City Council aims to alleviate police staffing shortages by...
        Florida’s recruitment campaign attracts hundreds of law enforcement...
    • Tech
      • NYPD explores cutting-edge drone detection vehicle to enhance city...
        The use of military assets by U.S. police
        What you need to know about automatic license plate readers
        Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner
        North Carolina schools, businesses to beef up active shooter security...
    • Training
      • Ballistic shields in patrol operations
        Four things you need to know to control escalation
        Series of fires in Los Angeles County Sheriff’s mobile shooting...
        Using learning factors to influence your performance
        Lancaster Police Department introduces agility course in recruitment...
    • Policy
      • All courage is not physical
        Minneapolis City Council approves new location
        Oregon cities and law enforcement push for recriminalization of drug...
        Policing expenses and opioid settlement funds
        Maine governor establishes independent commission to investigate...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Harnessing our strength: Post-traumatic growth
        Scientifically proven ways for cops to thrive
        The depression–anger cycle
        What does it mean to be a sheepdog?
        Depression screening
    • Community
      • The nobility of serving
        “The smile is a universal language”
        THC-infused candy incident raises safety concerns in California city
        Empowering communities
        Murder at Lake Merritt: Body found stuffed inside suitcase in...
    • Offbeat
      • Jewelry store heist ends in high-speed chase and mystifying response...
        Massachusetts community steps in to protect black bear “Pumpkin”...
        Florida moms call cops on school librarians for distributing...
        Authorities seize whopping $8.5 million worth of psychedelic...
        12-year-old car thief takes SUV on wild joyride across NYC
    • We Remember
      • Birmingham community mourns passing of its first Black police...
        “For those who suffered in silence and were lost”
        “You’re my hero”
        Manhattan Beach police officer and Las Vegas shooting survivor...
        Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
  • On the Job
    • Heroic K-9 unit honored at National Dog Show for role in capturing...
      NYPD reports surge in hate crimes against New York’s Jewish...
      Law enforcement cracks down on illegal sale of “gas station...
      “He went above and beyond” Port Authority K-9 sergeant honored
      Officer–K-9 duo makes remarkable drug capture
  • Labor
    • Massachusetts State Police intense training academy faces...
      Privacy and public records concerns
      The police officer shortage
      Henderson City Council aims to alleviate police staffing shortages by...
      Florida’s recruitment campaign attracts hundreds of law enforcement...
  • Tech
    • NYPD explores cutting-edge drone detection vehicle to enhance city...
      The use of military assets by U.S. police
      What you need to know about automatic license plate readers
      Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner
      North Carolina schools, businesses to beef up active shooter security...
  • Training
    • Ballistic shields in patrol operations
      Four things you need to know to control escalation
      Series of fires in Los Angeles County Sheriff’s mobile shooting...
      Using learning factors to influence your performance
      Lancaster Police Department introduces agility course in recruitment...
  • Policy
    • All courage is not physical
      Minneapolis City Council approves new location
      Oregon cities and law enforcement push for recriminalization of drug...
      Policing expenses and opioid settlement funds
      Maine governor establishes independent commission to investigate...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Harnessing our strength: Post-traumatic growth
      Scientifically proven ways for cops to thrive
      The depression–anger cycle
      What does it mean to be a sheepdog?
      Depression screening
  • Community
    • The nobility of serving
      “The smile is a universal language”
      THC-infused candy incident raises safety concerns in California city
      Empowering communities
      Murder at Lake Merritt: Body found stuffed inside suitcase in...
  • Offbeat
    • Jewelry store heist ends in high-speed chase and mystifying response...
      Massachusetts community steps in to protect black bear “Pumpkin”...
      Florida moms call cops on school librarians for distributing...
      Authorities seize whopping $8.5 million worth of psychedelic...
      12-year-old car thief takes SUV on wild joyride across NYC
  • We Remember
    • Birmingham community mourns passing of its first Black police...
      “For those who suffered in silence and were lost”
      “You’re my hero”
      Manhattan Beach police officer and Las Vegas shooting survivor...
      Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
  • Between the Lines
    • Debunking the perpetual narrative of racial bias in policing
      The unspoken truth behind the recruitment and retention crisis
      The police reform goal: use of force without options
      The imprisonment of law enforcement technology
      Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Community

The bounds of legal authority during crisis

Opinion/Editorial

David T. Snively Published May 22, 2020 @ 1:00 pm PDT

iStock.com/Juanmonino

In the face of a global viral pandemic believed to be spread through close personal contact, hosting a gathering of 500 people or more could be called foolish, reckless, dangerous and — in Florida at least — it is, for now, called illegal. On March 29, Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne held Sunday services at The River at Tampa Bay Church, drawing hundreds of people inside.1 By Monday morning, a warrant had been issued for his arrest, charging unlawful assembly and violation of a public health emergency order. The warrant was announced at a press conference led by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and State Attorney Andrew Warren. In their announcement, Warren said, “I think it’s unfortunate that the pastor here is hiding behind the First Amendment.”2

The purpose of this article is not to suggest that gathering en masse is a reasonable act, especially given the dangers of COVID-19; nor do I intend to debate the well-intent of a public heath declaration aimed at stifling its spread. But, where government action carries even the appearance of infringing upon Constitutional protections, law enforcement officers and agency administrators are well served to think critically about the implications attached to their actions long before they are called to implement them. Similarly, particularly when viewed within the post-Ferguson efforts to re-legitimize American policing and advance community trust, the use of police authority to enforce orders about which the public are widely skeptical should be approached with the utmost caution. This is especially true given the conditions necessary for an officer to enjoy qualified immunity — that the official’s conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable officer would have known.3

In the present example, the potential ramifications of (ostensibly) prohibiting the free exercise of religion and prohibiting an otherwise peaceful assembly — both separately well-established as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution — should be of tremendous concern to officers at every level of law enforcement.

There is an inherent complexity to utilizing law enforcement officers for the enforcement of “rules” other than explicitly criminal matters. This is with great reason; certainly, any number of articles could be recalled suggesting that the police are overinvolved in attempts to solve an array of societal ills for which they were not intended. The move to criminalize a particular behavior, however noble, brings with it the armed agents of the government tasked with enforcing those prohibitions. This task should thusly never be taken lightly.

Critical to conceptualizing and implementing the law enforcement response to an emergency is a recognition that the suspension of legal review is nearly always temporary. Thus, while a seemingly practical action may be unchallenged in the moment it is undertaken, judicial review is a potential eventuality, even if untimely. Perhaps significantly, as time passes between the emergency and that legal review, the reasonableness of a particular act may fade in the eyes of the reviewer. It is also important to consider that, while states and municipalities are empowered to enact laws and ordinances to establish and enforce laws, especially those protecting the welfare, safety and health of the public, there is nearly no mechanism for preventing the implementation of an unconstitutional law. Assessing the constitutionality of a statute is a task delegated to the judicial branch, and such, a review is typically triggered only by a party seeking redress. Consider, for example: The Official Code of Georgia Annotated §40-1-4 still prohibits knowingly affixing to a motor vehicle any sticker containing profane or lewd words describing “sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body.”4 This, despite a 1991 Georgia Supreme Court decision which found the statute was unconstitutional and violated both the First and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.5 Officers in every state could similarly locate statutory prohibitions, which are clearly contradicted by the Constitution and by various courts’ interpretations thereof. Thus, officers and administrators are reminded that the mere existence of a statute is not at all correlated with its constitutionality.

This potential conflict between legality and constitutionality is a particularly relevant consideration for agency executives. Chiefs and sheriffs should not be merely carrying out emergency ordinances; they should be an integral part of formulating them. Similarly, police officers at all levels of an agency should be empowered to openly discuss the moral and legal ramifications of a particular ordinance or policy, and supervisors should have clear lines of authority along which they can make recommendations. Significant deliberation must be given to the question of whether specific acts should be criminalized. Because enforcement of those statutes is an eventuality, that decision should center on a clear determination that the police are both necessary and appropriate enforcers of the desired outcome. It is insufficient and imprudent to presume that the threat of legal action, when made by a police officer, will be any more beneficial to achieving a particular outcome than an order given by some other public official.

Finally, procedural methods for the implementation of specific authorities and protocols should be developed well before they are needed. Consider in the present context: was arresting Pastor Howard-Browne and introducing him into a jail facility after he was in close contact with hundreds of other people one day earlier the most prudent course of action? Would a citation or summons have been more appropriate? These sorts of procedural preparations are key to efficiently achieving intended outcomes and to defending the methods by which they were accomplished.

History has not been kind to agency leaders, politicians or even to presidents who stepped outside the constitutionally prescribed mechanisms in an attempt to mitigate even the direst crises. But emergency response is the essence of law enforcement, and law enforcement leaders are among the best suited to craft policies, procedures and even statutes to respond to them in an appropriate — and legal — manner. This is a call for cops to do what we do best: lead and protect.


1 Fox 13 News. (2020, March 30). Tampa megachurch pastor arrested after leading packed services despite ‘safer-at-home’ orders. https://www.fox13news.com/news/tampa-megachurch-pastor-arrested-after-leading-packed-services-despite-safer-at-home-orders
2 Ibid.
3 White v. Pauly, 580 U.S. ___ (2017)
4 O.C.G.A § 40-1-4 (2018).
5 Cunningham v. State, 260 Ga. 827 (1991).

As seen in the May 2020 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Community, Bullhorn

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Heroic K-9 unit honored at National Dog Show for role in capturing prison escapee
  • Harnessing our strength: Post-traumatic growth
  • Massachusetts State Police intense training academy faces unprecedented attrition rates
  • NYPD reports surge in hate crimes against New York’s Jewish community amid Israel–Hamas war
  • Ballistic shields in patrol operations
  • Law enforcement cracks down on illegal sale of “gas station heroin”
  • “He went above and beyond” Port Authority K-9 sergeant honored
  • Privacy and public records concerns
  • Jewelry store heist ends in high-speed chase and mystifying response from suspect
  • Massachusetts community steps in to protect black bear “Pumpkin” from facing euthanasia after livestock incidents

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Improve your pistol-handling skills

Improve your pistol-handling skills

October 21, 2023

What you need to know about automatic license plate readers

What you need to know about automatic license plate readers

October 20, 2023

Do cops need <em>more</em> training?

Do cops need more training?

October 17, 2023

Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner

Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner

October 16, 2023

Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Options | Notice at Collection | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.