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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

LEOSA and Retired LEO's in Colorado

After three cities in two states requiring two certifications and a BS in Criminal Justice I retired.  There was no concealed carry for retired LEO's until 2005.  The CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) says the liability issue hasn't been resolved.  Result--no way to qualify under HR218.

So I went through Colorado's "shall issue CCW law".  Does not convey as broad an authorization but does feel more "normal" with some weight on your hip.

Any other states have this problem and any ideas on how they dealt with it?   Thor

PS  Many CO have little law enforcement training, are not certified, and don't mix with the public fully armed.  I never "carried" when around prisoners, couldn't even enter the county jail armed.  In Colorado certain people are required to be P.O.S.T. (police officer standards and training) certified.  The City & County of Denver had both a police department and sheriff's department.  Sheriff's deputies are CO's and only relatively recently could be armed and any arrest power is limited.  FYI--The power of citizen arrest is pretty liberal here.

Last edited @ 12/11/2008 5:09 PM

RE: D.O.C. and HR 218

I believe the CO's don't want to play "law enforcement" outside their jails. They just want to be able to defend themselves and their families. I am glad PL108-277 covers most of them much of the chagrin of lots of people as you can see the posts here. It hasn't changed since 2004 and probably never will.