Request By:
David H. Ashley, Esq.
City Attorney
City of Georgetown
City Hall
Georgetown, Kentucky 40324
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in reply to your letter asking about the status of a dog warden and his legal authority when acting pursuant to his lawful duties. Specifically you ask whether a dog warden is a peace officer and if he is not considered to be a peace officer, what legal authority does he have to issue citations.
KRS 258.195 requires that the fiscal court of each county employ a dog warden and establish and maintain a dog pound. Neither that particular provision nor any other section of KRS Chapter 258 makes a dog warden a peace officer and he, therefore, does not possess the powers of a peace officer. The dog warden could be made a peace officer by being appointed, for example, a deputy sheriff but such an appointment could not involve an increase in the number of deputy sheriff positions beyond the number established by the fiscal court pursuant to KRS 64.530.
While there are no express statutory provisions requiring the dog warden to pick up dogs anywhere in the county, the fiscal court pursuant to its regulatory powers under KRS 258.195 could require the dog warden to pick up such dogs that are unlicensed and loose upon the public way. However, a dog warden has no authority to enter upon private premises for the purpose of picking up an owner's unlicensed dog without a warrant. See OAG 75-383 and OAG 68-93, copies of which are enclosed.
A city, pursuant to KRS 258.365, may enact an ordinance relating to dog control so long as it does not conflict with the provisions of KRS Chapter 258. Such an ordinance could provide for a city dog warden or dog catcher but this person would not have police officer powers unless he was also a city police officer.
KRS 431.015 deals with the issuance of a citation for a misdemeanor or violation. The statute provides that a peace officer may issue a citation instead of making an arrest for a misdemeanor committed in his presence or for a violation committed in his presence. If the dog warden has not been made a deputy sheriff (or a county police officer if your county has a county police department) and thus has not acquired the status of a peace officer, he cannot utilize the provisions of KRS 431.015 and he has no legal authority to issue a citation.