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REPLY 1 - 5 of 5
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10/11/2008 10:37 PM
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#1
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Steve Rothstein
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 275
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RE: D.O.C. and HR 218
Many corrections officers are covered under the LEOSA. If you are not, you can work at the state level to become covered. All it takes is for the state to give you statutory arrest powers and authorize you to carry a weapon on duty. Then the LEOSA will cover you, as it does federal corrections and some of the states.
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11/2/2008 7:51 PM
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#2
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Mad_Max
Join Date: November 2008
Posts: 7
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RE: D.O.C. and HR 218
In Texas, prison guards are NOT peace officers. If you dealt with many of them on a regular basis you would understand.
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11/2/2008 8:45 PM
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#3
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Steve Rothstein
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 275
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RE: D.O.C. and HR 218
Mad_max, you need to be careful how you make those kind of statements. TDCJ does employ peace officers as well as CO's. Their Office of the Inspector General is staffed entirely with peace officers.
You are correct that the TDCJ correctional officers are not peace officers under Texas law. But this does not mean they are not law enforcement officers under the LEOSA. Many of them do meet the specific requirements for LEOSA.
Also, many jail guards are actually peace officers too. Quite a few of the Sheriff's Departments will move deputies fromt he streets to the jails and back again. Certainly, not all of them are, but many county corrections officers hold commissions as peace officers also.
As for the ones who are flaky, I have met them in jails beofre and at TDCJ. I have also worked with a few cops on the street that really scared me with their lack of competence. I try not to make a generalization about all of them or us based on those.
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11/2/2008 10:06 PM
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#4
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wolfva
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 112
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RE: D.O.C. and HR 218
Steve, would I be amiss in assuming (sorry, in an alliterative mood) that LEOSA only covers SWORN officers? For instance, there are states such as Virginia where certain security officers have arrest powers, but I doubt they'd be covered by LEOSA.
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11/3/2008 8:16 PM
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#5
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Steve Rothstein
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 275
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RE: D.O.C. and HR 218
No, you have it correct. LEOSA does not even cover all sworn officers. The basic requirements are that the person be employed (or retired from) in the law enforcement field (with a lot of specific definitions), have statutory arrest powers, be authorized by their employer to carry a gun on duty, and be a governmental employee.
One of the things a lot of people forget is the last part which requires government employee status. This keeps a lot of security guards out, all of the contract jail guards, and even some state certified police officers such as college campus officers from a private college (allowed in Texas).
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