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People v. Kleutgen8/1/2005
his section; (2) whether improper lane use is an "offense other than an ordinance violation" for the purposes of the section; and (3) whether an out-of-jurisdiction officer may use emergency lights and other equipment and powers restricted to peace officers in making an arrest under the section. In each case, we hold that the answer is yes.
It is well established that a peace officer outside his or her jurisdiction may use section 107--3 as a basis for making an arrest. E.g., People v. Lahr, 147 Ill. 2d 379, 382 (1992). In other words, when he leaves his or her jurisdiction, an officer does not lose the power to arrest that is possessed by any other person.
Next, improper lane use is an "offense other than an ordinance violation" for the purposes of creating authority to arrest under section 107--3. Section 107--3 is a part of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which defines "offense" as "a violation of any penal statute of this State." 725 ILCS 5/102--15 (West 2002). A "penal statute" is simply one that prohibits some act and prescribes a punishment. See People v. Graf, 93 Ill. App. 2d 43, 47-48 (1968). Improper lane use is punishable by a fine. See 625 ILCS 5/16--104 (West 2002); 730 ILCS 5/5--1--17 (West 2002). Therefore, section 11--709 of the Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11--709 (West 2002)), which contains the prohibition on improper lane use, is a penal statute. Furthermore, section 11--709 of the Vehicle Code is an enactment of the General Assembly, and thus is a state statute, not an ordinance. City of Peoria v. Toft, 215 Ill. App. 3d 440, 443-44 (1991); see also Namur v. Habitat Co., 294 Ill. App. 3d 1007, 1013 (1998) (an ordinance is a municipal statute). Improper lane use is therefore an offense other than an ordinance violation, and a person may properly arrest another for improper lane use pursuant to section 107--3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Earlier cases reached the same conclusion. E.g., People v. Gupton, 139 Ill. App. 3d 530, 533 (1985).
Finally, Bergeron's use while arresting defendant of his car's emergency lights and other facilities unavailable to a private person did not invalidate that arrest. The use of powers and equipment limited to peace officers is acceptable in an arrest under section 107--3 (People v. Marino, 80 Ill. App. 3d 657, 665 (1980)), provided that such powers and equipment are not used out of jurisdiction to gather the evidence that justified the arrest (Lahr, 147 Ill. 2d at 383). We first examine the precedent considering the use of special powers and equipment in making an arrest, and then consider defendant's contention that Bergeron used powers and equipment limited to peace officers to gather the evidence that led to her arrest.
The use by an out-of-jurisdiction officer of powers and equipment limited to peace officers in making an arrest does not affect the validity of an arrest under section 107--3. Lahr is the leading case on arrests under section 107--3 by out-of-jurisdiction peace officers. In Lahr, a Sleepy Hollow police officer using a radar gun arrested the defendant for speeding. The defendant and the officer were outside the officer's jurisdiction when the defendant committed the offense, i.e., when the officer made the measurement. Lahr, 147 Ill. 2d at 381, 385. The court held that, because an officer's powers to make an arrest under section 107--3 are no greater than any other person's, the use of a radar gun (whose availability, as a practical matter, is limited to peace officers) made the arrest improper. Lahr, 147 Ill. 2d at 386-87. This reasoning might seem to also make improper any arrest under section 107--3 in which the officer used any of the indicia of his or her police authority, since those also are unav
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