Request By:
Mr. Joseph J. Wantland
Assistant County Attorney
217 Buckman Street
Shepherdsville, Kentucky 40165
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter of June 20, 1979 you inquire as to when a police officer may make an arrest for a traffic offense instead of giving a citation.
The statutes are very precise on this but it takes considerable time and effort to gather the information. The following is our compilation, but we do not guarantee it to be complete. Traffic Offenses for which an officer maymake an arrest instead of issuing a citation.KRS 189.580(1)Failure to stop after accident.KRS 189.520Second and third offenses,driving while intoxicated.KRS 189.530Granting vehicle to a drunk.KRS 189.565Failure to stop a tanker atrailroad crossing.KRS 189.990(18)Abandoning vehicle on rightof way.KRS 189.393Eluding officer.KRS 189.860Operation of off-road vehicle.KRS 189.505Racing on highway.KRS 189.920Improper lights on emergencyvehicle.KRS 189.930Failure to yield right of wayto emergency vehicle.KRS 189.940Misuse of emergency vehicle.KRS 189.950Misuse of emergency vehicleequipment.
(All of the above offenses carry a penalty of fine or imprisonment. )
The offenses listed below carry a penalty of a fine only but are designated misdemeanors by the respective penalty statutes. KRS 189.050(3)(4)Failure to have proper lights ona truck.KRS 189.090(4)Failure to have proper brakes ona semi-trailer.KRS 189.221-230,270, 280Weight and dimension limits ontrucks.189.490Improper operation of a trailer.
KRS 431.005 provides that a peace officer may make an arrest without a warrant when a misdemeanor is committed in his presence. The above named traffic offenses are the only ones we have been able to find which are designated as misdemeanors and are therefore the only offenses for which an officer may make an arrest without a warrant. For all other traffic offenses an officer must either first obtain a warrant or issue a citation. KRS 431.015.
KRS 532.020 provides in part as follows:
"(2) Any offense defined outside this code for which a law outside this code provides a sentence to a definite term of imprisonment with a maximum which falls between 90 days and 12 months shall be deemed a Class A Misdemeanor.
"(3) Any offense defined outside this code to which a law outside this code provides a sentence to a definite term of imprisonment with a maximum of less than 90 days shall be deemed a Class B Misdemeanor.
"(4) Any offense defined outside this code for which a law outside this code provides a sentence to a fine but no term of imprisonment shall be deemed a violation."
In your letter you mentioned the offenses of speeding, KRS 189.390, and reckless driving, KRS 189.290. Neither of these offenses is a misdemeanor and therefore an officer is not authorized to make an arrest but only to issue a citation for the violation.
You also mentioned a case where the officer claimed that the offender was laughing at him and he thought this was unnecessary and therefore arrested the offender for reckless driving. As we have said above, reckless driving is not a misdemeanor and, therefore, not an arrestable offense. Laughing at, or arguing with, an officer is not reckless driving. Unless a person commits disorderly conduct, KRS 525.060, or some other misdemeanor in the presence of the officer, he should not be arrested and lodged in jail.