Request By:
Mr. Homer Powell
Jackson County Judge
McKee, Kentucky 40447
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You ask whether a deputy sheriff is entitled to the $7.00 fee for arresting a person for drunkenness or other misdemeanor without the sheriff's being present. The fee is provided by KRS 64.090.
If the deputy is a regular deputy filling a deputy position authorized by fiscal court under KRS 64.530, the fee should be paid even though the sheriff is not present. Any duty of the sheriff may be performed by his lawful deputy. KRS 61.035. Here the deputy is merely acting for the sheriff and the sheriff gets credit for the fee.
The fact the sheriff makes an arrest in misdemeanor cases in the presence of a state policeman is immaterial. The sheriff is entitled to the fee if he makes the arrest or if he is the principal peace officer making the arrest, though he might be assisted by other peace officers. We do not believe that the legislature intended to qualify the sheriff's getting the arrest fee by requiring him to be alone and unassisted in making an arrest, like the Lone Ranger. The overall responsibility of the sheriff in local law enforcement must be considered in the proper application of the fee schedule set forth in KRS 64.090.