Request By:
The Honorable Louie Mack
State Representative
271 Burke Road
Lexington, Kentucky 40505
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General;Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General, (502) 564-4019
Re: Whether Personnel in the Division of Motor Vehicle Enforcement, Tranportation Cabinet, Have Authority to Stop Suspected Drunk Drivers and Issue Citations.
You have asked in substance, whether Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Vehicle Enforcement, have authority to stop suspected drunk drivers on Kentucky's highways and, where appropriate, issue citations in such regard. You note it is your understanding such officers do have jurisdiction concerning possible driving under the influence violations regarding "private and for-hire commercial vehicles, but not passenger cars."
Our view, regarding enforcement of the traffic laws by the Transportation Cabinet's Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers, is that the scope of such officers' powers and duties in such regard are governed by KRS 281.765. That statute imposes upon such officers powers and duties which include enforcement of dreving under the influence violations regarding all types of motor vehicles and drivers, not just "private and for-hire commercial vehicles." Accotdingly, the Transportation Cabinet's MotorVehicle Enforcement Officers have both the power, and the duty, to stop suspected drunk drivers in any type of motor vehicle, and take appropriate action. Discussion follows.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinent's policy regarding enforcement by its vehicle enforcement officers of driving under the influence statutes (KRS 189.520, KRS 189A.010-189A.090), is found in the Cabinent's Guidance Manual No. 92, at Chapter 33, page 33-5, under the heading (.0900) "DUI and Other Violations." See Kentucky Transportation Secretary's Official Order 89-253, August 27, 1985, as amended by Policy Change 92-01, November 12, 1985. That policy is, in part:
DUI enforcement by motor vehicle enforcement personnel is restricted to motor carrier drivers/ operators by those individuals trained in DUI enforcement. [Emphasis added.]
The policy of restricting DUI enforcement to "motor carrier drivers/ operators" is apparently based upon language of the
Court of Appeals in Wilson v. Bureau of State Police, Ky. App., 669 S.W.2d 18 (1984). In that case, the Court said ". . . amendments . . . over the years manifest a legislative intent to view KRS 281.770 as the sole statute applicable to officers such as the appellant." Id. at 21. The appellant was a vehicle enforcement officer of the Bureau of State Police. KRS 281.770 addresses only employees of that bureau.
The motor vehicle enforcement function was, for a time, administratively under the Bureau of State Police. See Governor's Executive Order 80-84, effective February 1, 1980. However, in August, 1982, that function was transferred from the Bureau of State Police, to the Transportation Cabinet, where it now rests. See Governor's Executive Order 82-560, effective August 1, 1982. Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers, thus, are no longer "employees of the Bureau of State Police." Accordingly, they are not governed by KRS 281.770, which by its express terms, speaks only to employees of that bureau (the Bureau of State Police). The Wilson case, supra, does not address powers and duties of vehicle enforcement officers of the Transportation Cabinet. Similarly, a previous opinion of this office, OAG 82-298, addresses authority of officers commissioned under KRS 281.770, at the time the vehicle enforcement function was in the Bureau of State Police. That Opinion does not address the authority of vehicle enforcement officers of the Transportation Cabinet.
Currently, as employees of the Transportation Cabinet, Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers derive their law enforcement powers and duties from KRS 281.765. That statute directs in part:
". . . [A]ny peace officer . . . including . . . special officers appointed by any agency of the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the enforcement of its laws relating to motor vehicles . . . shall be authorized and it is hereby made the duty of each of them to enforce the provisions of this chapter [KRS 281] and to make arrests for any violation or violations thereof, and for violations of any other law relating to motor vehciles. . . ." [Emphasis added.]
Kentucky Statues pertaining to driving under the influence of intoxicants or impairing substances, KRS 189.520 et seq., and KRS 189A.010 through 189A.090, obviously fall within the category of "any other law relating to motor vehicles" as used in KRS 281.765, supra.
Since the Transportation Cabinet's Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers derive their powers and duties from KRS 281.765, they are not under the limitation imposed upon employees of the Bureau of State Police by KRS 281.770. It follows that, in accordance with KRS 281.765, the Transportation Cabinet's Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers have both the power and the duty to enforce Kentucky's statutes pertaining to driving a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants or impairing substances regarding all drivers of all motor vehicles, not just "private and for-hire commercial vehicles" or "motor carrier drivers/ operators."