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State v. Garrison9/8/2005
n shall be commissioned as a college or university police officer unless prior to such commissioning the person has, as a minimum requirement, completed and graduated from the six-weeks program of the Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy of Louisiana State University." La. R.S. 17:1805 C. Without the ability to patrol, stop and frisk, and arrest, university officers cannot do what is demanded of them, which is to enhance security throughout the area where students spend their time.
Generally campus police have authority on campus. This jurisdiction is based on property ownership. Louisiana has extended to university police statewide or off campus authority when on official business, such as, engaging in intelligence gathering, investigating a crime committed on campus, when transporting prisoners, when transporting money, securities, or valuables for the institution, while providing security for visiting dignitaries and if requested by the parish or city chief law enforcement officer. La. R.S. 17:1805 D.
The legislature has specifically provided that college and university police officers have "the power of arrest when discharging their duties on their respective campuses and on all streets, roads, and rights-of-way to the extent they are within or contiguous to the perimeter of such campuses." La. R.S. 17:1805 A(3).
Thornton Street runs through the Louisiana Tech campus. Approximately one block after Thornton Street leaves the boundary of the Tech campus, it intersects with Carey Avenue. Louisiana Tech has a parking lot on Carey Avenue. West California Avenue is less than a half block from the intersection of Carey Avenue and Thornton Street. West California Avenue is also U.S. Highway 80.
In this case, the campus officer drove one and a half blocks off campus on Thornton Street, turned around, and was heading back to the campus when he heard a disturbance originating from the Louisiana Tech parking lot on Carey Avenue. We agree with the trial court that this short distance between the campus boundary and an off-site campus parking lot qualifies as being contiguous to the perimeter of the parking lot as well as the main campus. To suggest that a campus officer cannot drive one block off campus to another site owned by the university and used for parking would be contrary to the objective of enhancing security.
The Stop
The law permits police to seek the voluntary cooperation of the public in the investigation of a possible crime. An officer does not violate the prohibition against unlawful seizures by requesting that an individual give information or cooperation in the investigation or prevention of a crime. Such voluntary inquiries are vital in police investigatory work. In Illinois v. Lidster, 540 U.S. 419, 426, 124 S.Ct. 885, 890, 157 L.Ed. 2d 843 (2004), the U.S. Supreme Court stated, " t would seem anomalous were the law (1) ordinarily to allow police freely to seek the voluntary cooperation of pedestrians but (2) ordinarily to forbid police to seek similar voluntary cooperation from motorists."
In this case the officer's initial action in getting defendant to stop was the only means available to get defendant's attention long enough to request information. The officer had actually passed Carey Avenue going back to the campus when he heard a disturbance originating from the Tech parking lot and turned around to investigate and saw defendant. He stopped defendant to ask for information. It was not until the officer noted sufficient indicia of inebriation that he had a reasonable suspicion and probable cause to believe that defendant was a danger as he was driving under the influence .
This was not a checkpo
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