Chapter 2 - Peace Officers
CHAPTER 2 - PEACE OFFICERS
7-2-101. Definitions.
(a) As used in W.S. 7-2-101 through 7-2-107:
(i) "Deadly weapon" means as defined by W.S.6-1-104(a)(iv);
(ii) "Felony" means as defined by W.S. 6-10-101;
(iii) "Misdemeanor" means as defined by W.S. 6-10-101;
(iv) "Peace officer" means:
(A) Any duly authorized sheriff, under sheriff or deputysheriff who has qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707;
(B) Any duly authorized member of a municipal police force, acollege or university campus police force or the Wyoming highway patrol who hasqualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707;
(C) Game and fish law enforcement personnel qualified pursuantto W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707 and:
(I) When enforcing felony statutes following observation ordiscovery of the commission of a felony which was observed or discovered duringthe performance of their statutory duties;
(II) While responding to requests to assist other peace officersperforming their official duties or when enforcing a valid arrest warrant forany crime; or
(III) When enforcing any provision of title 23 and chapter 13 oftitle 41, any rule and regulation promulgated by the Wyoming game and fishcommission or any other statute for which they are granted statutoryenforcement authority.
(D) Agents of the division of criminal investigation appointedpursuant to W.S. 9-1-613 who have qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through9-1-707;
(E) Investigators and brand inspectors of the Wyoming livestockboard who have qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707:
(I) When enforcing W.S. 6-3-201, 6-3-203, 6-3-401 through6-3-403, 6-3-407, 6-3-410, 6-3-601 through 6-3-603, 6-3-607, 6-3-610 through6-3-612, 6-9-202, 35-10-101, 35-10-102 and 35-10-104, the provisions of title11 and any laws prohibiting theft, killing or mutilation of livestock or anypart thereof and any rule or regulation promulgated by the Wyoming livestockboard or any other law for which they are granted statutory enforcementauthority;
(II) When responding to a request to assist another peace officeras defined in this paragraph performing his official duty; or
(III) Enforcing a valid arrest warrant for a crime specified insubdivision (E)(I) of this paragraph.
(F) Any duly authorized arson investigator employed by thestate fire marshal who has qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707;
(G) Any superintendent, assistant superintendent or full-timepark ranger of any state park, state recreation area, state archeological siteor state historic site who has qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through9-1-707, when acting within the boundaries of the state park, state recreationarea, state archeological site or state historic site, or when responding to arequest to assist other peace officers performing their official duties;
(H) Any duly authorized detention officer in the performance ofhis duties and who has qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707;
(J) Investigators employed by the Wyoming state board ofoutfitters and professional guides and qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701through 9-1-707, when enforcing W.S. 23-2-401 and 23-2-406 through 23-2-418 andboard rules and regulations promulgated under W.S. 23-2-410(a)(ii);
(K) Any peace officer certified by another state who has beenappointed as a special deputy sheriff of a Wyoming county pursuant to W.S.18-3-602(c);
(M) Certified law enforcement officers of an adjoining statewhile responding to a request for assistance from a peace officer in this statepursuant to the "Law Enforcement Interstate Mutual Aid Act" or otherlawful request;
(N) The director and full-time staff instructors of the Wyominglaw enforcement academy when duly appointed and acting pursuant to W.S.9-1-633(b); and
(O) Any duly authorized court security officer employed by theWyoming supreme court who is qualified pursuant to W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-707when:
(I) Enforcing Wyoming statutes or supreme court rules onpremises where the supreme court is conducting business;
(II) In fresh pursuit of a person whom the officer has probablecause to believe has committed within the officer's jurisdiction a violation ofa state statute, or for whom an arrest warrant is outstanding for any criminaloffense; or
(III) When responding to a request to assist other peace officersacting within the scope of their official duties in their own jurisdiction.
7-2-102. Preconditions for arrests.
(a) A peace officer may arrest a person when the officer has awarrant commanding that the person be arrested or the officer has reasonablegrounds for believing that a warrant for the person's arrest has been issuedin this state or in another jurisdiction.
(b) A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant when:
(i) Any criminal offense is being committed in the officer'spresence by the person to be arrested;
(ii) The officer has probable cause to believe that a felony hasbeen committed and that the person to be arrested has committed it; or
(iii) The officer has probable cause to believe that amisdemeanor has been committed, that the person to be arrested has committed itand that the person, unless immediately arrested:
(A) Will not be apprehended;
(B) May cause injury to himself or others or damage toproperty; or
(C) May destroy or conceal evidence of the commission of themisdemeanor.
7-2-103. Issuance of citations.
(a) A citation may issue as a charging document for anymisdemeanor which the issuing officer has probable cause to believe wascommitted by the person to whom the citation was issued.
(b) A person may be released if, after investigation, itappears that the person:
(i) Does not present a danger to himself or others;
(ii) Will not injure or destroy the property of others;
(iii) Will appear for future court proceedings; and
(iv) Is willing to sign a citation promising to appear in courtat the time and on the date specified in the citation.
(c) The person may be released from custody upon the directiveof:
(i) The arresting officer;
(ii) The district attorney or, for cases being prosecuted inmunicipal court, the city attorney;
(iii) Another peace officer designated by the sheriff or, forcases being prosecuted in municipal court, the chief of police.
(d) The citation for a person in custody may be issued by thearresting officer or by another peace officer designated by:
(i) The district attorney or the city attorney for cases beingprosecuted in municipal court; or
(ii) The sheriff or the chief of police for cases beingprosecuted in municipal court.
(e) For purposes of this section, "issuing officer"means a peace officer, or a special municipal officer acting in accordance withthe terms of his appointment under W.S. 15-1-103(a)(l). A "specialmunicipal officer" means a municipal employee whose duties include theareas of animal control, parking or municipal code enforcement.
7-2-104. Authority to seize deadly weapons; disposition.
(a) A peace officer may take into possession any deadly weaponsfound in the possession of a person arrested if:
(i) The peace officer has reason to believe the weapon will beused to endanger the safety of the officer or the public; or
(ii) The person arrested might seek to use the weapon to resistarrest or to escape.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, nothing inthis section shall authorize a peace officer to take into possession any deadlyweapon when enforcing the game and fish provisions contained in title 23 of theWyoming statutes provided the safety of the officer or the public is notendangered. A peace officer may take into possession a deadly weapon asauthorized by W.S. 23-6-208.
(c) Deadly weapons seized under this section shall be returnedor disposed of as provided by W.S. 7-2-105 unless otherwise ordered by thecourt.
7-2-105. Disposition and appraisal of property seized or held; noticeand order to show cause; judgment.
(a) When personal property not subject to be summarilydestroyed is seized or held by any peace officer pursuant to any law of thisstate, or when property seized by any peace officer is delivered to theappropriate law enforcement agency under provisions other than W.S. 35-7-1049,or property is taken into custody as lost, mislaid or abandoned, the head ofthe law enforcement agency shall forthwith ascertain as closely as practicable:
(i) The approximate value of the property;
(ii) The facts giving rise to the seizure or custody;
(iii) The name and position of the person making the seizure ortaking the property into custody;
(iv) The name and address of the owners of the property or thosepersons who were in possession of the property at the time of the seizure;
(v) The names and addresses of all persons known to have aninterest in the property seized.
(b) Any property seized by a peace officer shall be deliveredimmediately to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The head of the lawenforcement agency shall maintain custody of the property pending an order ofdisposal by the court pursuant to this section unless the property is otherwisereleased according to this section.
(c) If the property is lost, mislaid, abandoned or unclaimed orif possession of the property is unlawful, the law enforcement agency shallseek in circuit court or district court an order to show cause why the propertyshould not be sold or forfeited and sold at public auction or transferred tothe use of the law enforcement agency. If the lawful owner of the property canreasonably be ascertained, the property shall be delivered to him withoutjudicial action unless the property constitutes evidence of a crime, thepossession of the property would be unlawful or ownership and interest are indispute.
(d) Notice and proceedings on the order to show cause shall beaccording to the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, provided notice by publicationshall be once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. The trial of the issuesshall be by the court.
(e) On final hearing the order to show cause shall be taken asprima facie evidence that the property is abandoned or unclaimed and is sufficientfor a judgment of forfeiture in the absence of other proof.
(f) In disputed ownership cases the burden shall be upon theclaimants to show that they are the lawful owners or have a legallyrecognizable interest in the property.
(g) When the property is encumbered, the court shall, afterdeducting costs, direct the payment of the encumbrance from the proceeds of anysale of the property or distribute the property equitably between those personshaving a legal interest.
(h) The proceedings and judgment of forfeiture shall be in remand shall be primarily against the property itself.
(j) Upon the entry of a judgment of forfeiture the court shalldetermine the disposition to be made of the property, which may include thedestruction or sale of the property or the allocation of the property to someother governmental function or use or otherwise, as the court may determine.
(k) Sale of the property shall be at public auction to thehighest bidder for cash after two (2) weeks public notice as the court maydirect.
(m) Upon the application of any claimant, the court may fix thevalue of a forfeitable interest in the seized property and permit the claimantto redeem the property upon the payment of a sum equal to the value, which sumshall be disposed of as would the proceeds of the sale of the property under ajudgment of forfeiture.
(n) The balance of the proceeds, if any, shall be deposited inthe general operating account of the state, county or municipal entity that hasfiscal authority over the law enforcement agency confiscating the property.
(o) This section does not apply to property which is subject tothe Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, W.S. 34-24-101 through 34-24-140.
(p) For purposes of this section, seized property that is notsubject to W.S. 35-7-1049 may be summarily destroyed, provided the lawful ownerhas been contacted and has declined to take possession of the property,including:
(i) Evidence that is no longer needed for the prosecution of acase, or needed for purposes of appellate review of the case;
(ii) Evidence in misdemeanor cases in which the districtattorney has determined that no suspect has been identified or prosecution hasnot been pursued for at least one (1) year;
(iii) Evidence in felony cases in which the district attorney hasdetermined that no suspect has been identified or prosecution has not beenpursued for at least five (5) years;
(iv) Soiled, defective, broken or demolished personal property,or waste.
(q) Items of found property with a value of not more than fiftydollars ($50.00) for which the owner cannot be located, or if the owner has notresponded after contact was attempted by the law enforcement agency, may bedisposed of after the latter of:
(i) Thirty (30) days after the agency has determined that theowner cannot be located; or
(ii) Thirty (30) days after the agency has attempted on at leastthree (3) nonconsecutive days to contact the owner without response from theowner.
(r) Law enforcement agencies shall preserve biological materialthat was seized or recovered as evidence in the investigation or prosecutionthat resulted in a conviction or adjudication as a delinquent for a crime ofviolence and not consumed in previous DNA testing. The biological materialshall be preserved for five (5) years or, except as provided in this section,for as long as any person incarcerated in connection with the case orinvestigation remains in custody, whichever is longer. Notwithstanding anyprovisions to the contrary in this section, effective July 1, 2008 a lawenforcement agency may dispose of the biological material after five (5) yearsif the law enforcement agency notifies any person who remains incarcerated inconnection with the investigation or prosecution and any counsel of record forsuch person, or if there is no counsel of record, the state public defender, ofthe intention to dispose of the evidence and the law enforcement agency affordsthe person not less than one hundred eighty (180) days after the notificationto file a motion for DNA testing or preservation of the biological material. The law enforcement agency shall not be required to preserve evidence that isrequired to be, and has been, returned to its rightful owner, or is of such asize, bulk or physical character as to render retention impracticable. Ifpracticable, the law enforcement agency shall remove and preserverepresentative portions of the biological material sufficient to permit futureDNA testing before returning or disposing of the material.
(s) Whoever willfully or maliciously destroys, alters, concealsor tampers with evidence that is required to be preserved under subsection (r)of this section with the intent to impair the integrity of that evidence, toprevent that evidence from being subjected to DNA testing or to prevent theproduction or use of that evidence in an official proceeding shall uponconviction be subject to a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars($10,000.00), imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both.
7-2-106. Extraterritorial authority of peace officers; requests forassignment of peace officers; liability; compensation.
(a) Subject to the limitations in subsection (e) of thissection, a peace officer, while outside of his jurisdiction, shall have the sameauthority that applies to him within his jurisdiction to the same degree andextent only when any one (1) of the following conditions exists:
(i) The peace officer is responding to a request for lawenforcement assistance made by a law enforcement agency of another jurisdictionor a specific request to assist another peace officer acting within the scopeof his official duties in another jurisdiction;
(ii) The peace officer possesses reasonable cause to believethat a crime is occurring involving an immediate threat of serious bodilyinjury or death to any person; or
(iii) The peace officer is in fresh pursuit of a person whom theofficer has probable cause to believe has committed within the officer'sjurisdiction a violation of a municipal ordinance or state statute, includingtraffic infractions, or for whom an arrest warrant is outstanding for anycriminal or traffic offense.
(b) Subject to the limitations in subsection (e) of thissection, the governing body of any municipality that does not have a policedepartment, the chief of police of any municipality or his designee, or thesheriff of any county or his designee, in accordance with the rules andprocedures established by the governing body of any municipality or county, mayrequest the chief of police of any other municipality, or his designee, or thesheriff of any other county, or his designee, to assign certified peaceofficers under their respective command to perform law enforcement dutieswithin the jurisdiction of the requesting chief of police or sheriff. Peaceofficers, while so assigned and performing duties, are subject to the directionand control of the requesting chief or sheriff and shall have full peaceofficer authority within the requesting agency's jurisdiction during the assignment.The assignments under this subsection shall be restricted to the terms of awritten memorandum of understanding entered into in advance by eachparticipating sheriff, chief of police or appropriate supervisor of anotheragency employing peace officers and by the governing bodies of their respectivecounties or municipalities. The memorandum of understanding shall, at minimum,specify:
(i) The length of term of the assignment, not to exceed one (1)month beyond the current term of office of any participating sheriff or chiefof police;
(ii) The certified peace officers covered by the assignment;
(iii) A general description of the geographical boundaries ofterritory covered by the assignment;
(iv) The responsibilities of each participating county,municipality and law enforcement agency for costs and expenses related to theassignments, including the cost of all wages, salaries, benefits and damage toequipment belonging to an officer or his employer while acting under theprovisions of this subsection.
(c) A peace officer acting pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) ofthis section outside his own jurisdiction shall be deemed to be acting withinthe scope of his duties for purposes of the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act andthe state self-insurance program, W.S. 1-41-101 through 1-41-111, or the localgovernment self-insurance program, W.S. 1-42-201 through 1-42-206. Allprivileges and immunities from liability, and all pension, disability, worker'scompensation and other benefits which normally apply to peace officers whilethey perform their duties in their own jurisdiction shall also apply to themwhen acting as provided in subsection (a) or (b) of this section. For purposesof W.S. 27-14-104, the requesting and assigning law enforcement agencies shallbe a joint employer as defined under W.S. 27-14-102(a)(xix) and the designatedpeace officer shall be a joint employee as defined under W.S.27-14-102(a)(xxi).
(d) The cost of salary and benefits accruing to a peace officeracting pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be borne by theindividual peace officer's own employing agency. The cost of any damage toequipment belonging to the officer or his employer occurring while actingpursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be borne by the requesting lawenforcement agency.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize apeace officer:
(i) As defined in W.S. 7-2-101(a)(iv)(F), (H) or (J) to actpursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section; or
(ii) As defined in W.S. 7-2-101(a)(iv)(E) or (G) to act pursuantto paragraph (a)(ii) or (iii) or subsection (b) of this section.
7-2-107. Arrest or detention of persons with diplomatic immunities.
(a) This section applies to an individual who upon beingstopped, detained or arrested by a peace officer for a violation of W.S.6-2-106, a driving while under the influence offense or a moving violationpursuant to the motor vehicle laws of Wyoming or local ordinance, provides adriver's license issued by the United States department of state or otherwiseclaims immunities or privileges pursuant to title 22, chapter 6 of the UnitedStates Code.
(b) If a driver as described in subsection (a) of this sectionis stopped, detained or arrested by a peace officer who has probable cause tobelieve that the driver has committed a violation described in subsection (a)of this section, the peace officer shall:
(i) Within a reasonable amount of time, contact the UnitedStates department of state and verify the driver's status and possibleimmunity;
(ii) Record relevant information from the driver's license oridentification card issued by the United States department of state; and
(iii) Within five (5) days after the date of the stop, forwardthe following to the United States department of state:
(A) A written report of the incident; and
(B) A copy of the citation or other charging document ifissued.
(c) The provisions of this section do not prohibit theapplication of any law to a criminal violation by any individual who claimsimmunities pursuant to title 22, chapter 6 of the United States Code.
7-2-108. Repealed By Laws 2007, Ch. 91, 3.