Municipality has a standard mutual aid agreement with another nearby town.
They are wanting to add a clause to the mutual aid which would allow for
one municipality to basically cover an entire shift or shifts for the
other. The assisting LE would still be paid by the assisting
municipality and covered by the assisting municipality's insurance, etc.,
like with any other typical mutual aid.

The concern that each PD has is that both municipalities are very small and
are worried about numerous officers having to quarantine due to covid and
then not having enough officers or reserves to man each town's respective
jurisdiction. I feel like they could probably get away with this under the
definition of "emergency" in 11 O.S. 34-103, but I'm wary, for example,
that if an officer from town A were to cover a weeks worth of shifts for an
officer from town B, that we would be outside of the scope of that
definition. Do any of the great minds here see an issue with this
situation?

Phillip N. Morton, J.D.
P.O. Box 1886
Ada, OK 74820
Phone: 580-759-0049
Fax: 580-759-2177
Email: MortonLawOffice@gmail.com

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Phillip,

Expanding the mutual aid agreement to such an extent seems to go beyond what we typically think about when discussing the type of service intended to be provided under a mutual aid agreement.  I would want to consider a few things:

1. Is requiring the officer to serve complete shifts in other jurisdictions within any collective bargaining agreement?  I  know the intention is that the officers will remain employees of the lending jurisdiction, but it would seem that they would have to be under the direction and control of the commanding officer of the jurisdiction where they are working for a complete shift.  Make certain the base CBA, if any, will allow such temporary assignment.
2. Oklahoma courts have seemed willing to disregard parties’ agreements and look to the underlying facts to determine whether a person is an “employee” for third party purposes (and perhaps for workers’ compensation purposes).  I would want to make certain how both cities’ insurance coverages would be impacted if a court determined that the “loaned” employee was considered an employee of the jurisdiction where he covered a shift.  Not only for workers  comp, but also for things such as an officer involved shooting, a false arrest claim, etc.
3. Legally, does an officer who is not a peace officer of the jurisdiction where he is covering a shift have the authority to issue citations or make any arrest (other than a citizen’s arrest) for a violation of that jurisdiction’s ordinances or state law?
4. From a practical standpoint, can the lending jurisdiction recall the officer if needed to fill shifts in their home jurisdiction?

Not much help, but some things to consider.

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

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From: Phillip Morton mortonlawoffice@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2022 4:37 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [CAUTION: SUSPECT SENDER] [Oama] Mutual Aid Question

Municipality has a standard mutual aid agreement with another nearby town. They are wanting to add a clause to the mutual aid which would allow for one municipality to basically cover an entire shift or shifts for the other. The assisting LE would still be paid by the assisting municipality and covered by the assisting municipality's insurance, etc., like with any other typical mutual aid.

The concern that each PD has is that both municipalities are very small and are worried about numerous officers having to quarantine due to covid and then not having enough officers or reserves to man each town's respective jurisdiction. I feel like they could probably get away with this under the definition of "emergency" in 11 O.S. 34-103, but I'm wary, for example, that if an officer from town A were to cover a weeks worth of shifts for an officer from town B, that we would be outside of the scope of that definition. Do any of the great minds here see an issue with this situation?

Phillip N. Morton, J.D.
P.O. Box 1886
Ada, OK 74820
Phone: 580-759-0049
Fax: 580-759-2177
Email: MortonLawOffice@gmail.commailto:MortonLawOffice@gmail.com

CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION: This electronic mail transmission, as well as any attachments, may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of any of the information contained in or attached to this message is STRICTLY PROHIBITED by law. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify us by replying to this email or by calling 580-759-0049.