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7 - County Emergency

Presented and Sponsored by Board Member: Larry_Gallahan

Be it enacted by the County Councillors and County Commissioners here assembled that

THE BOARD OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY ENACTS

Section I - Definitions

  1. Municipal Police Department - At the time or writing this provision refers exclusively to the Plymouth Police Department and the Lander Police Department.
  2. Temporary Deputisation - The temporary state of being inducted into the Sheriff’s Office and being declared his deputy, to provide the legal right to patrol and enforce law throughout the county.
  3. Call to Arms - The act of calling any individual into service under the Sheriff.

Section II - Text

  1. The declaration of a county emergency will provide the following powers to the county Sheriff, in line with the common law principle of Posse Comitatus;
    1. The Sheriff may call to arms any able bodied member of a municipal police department which serves within the boundaries of the County.
      1. Upon the declaration of an emergency, all members of these departments will be considered to hold a temporary deputisation within the Sheriff’s Office, thereby granted the right to exercise their law enforcement power on any land which the county encompasses, for the duration of the emergency.
      2. At such time as an emergency is no longer in effect, the temporary deputisation will cease to be in effect and all affected municipal officers will no longer have the right to enforce law outside their municipal jurisdiction, except where other county, or state law applies.
  2. The power to declare a county emergency lies with the following individuals, groups, and organisations:
    1. The County Sheriff
      1. The county sheriff may declare a county emergency which will then be in force until such time as the emergency is declared over, or a period of 24 hours elapses without either:
        1. A vote of the county board to continue the emergency
        2. A second county commissioner signing the order declaring a county emergency
        3. If the provisions of (b.i)1.a or (b.i)1.b are fulfilled, then the emergency will go on until such time as the emergency is declared over.
    2. The County Commission
      1. Two county commissioners, as defined by the County Commissioners Ordinance, may jointly declare a county emergency which will then be in force until such time as the emergency is declared over.
    3. The County Board
      1. The county board may, with a 1⁄2 majority, declare a county emergency which will then be in force until such time as the emergency is declared over.
  3. The power to declare that a county emergency is over lies with any individual, organisation, or group of individuals who has the power to declare an emergency.

Section III - General Provisions

  1. Upon this County Ordnance being published, it shall go into effect immediately. All conflicting Municipal Ordinances & County Ordinances will be declared null and void.
Last update: May 12, 2020