City of Miami Beach v. Valeriani

137 So. 2d 226
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedFebruary 2, 1962
DocketNo. 31279
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 137 So. 2d 226 (City of Miami Beach v. Valeriani) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Miami Beach v. Valeriani, 137 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 1962).

Opinion

CHARLES R. SCOTT, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner, City of Miami Beach, filed a petition for writ of certiorari to review an order of the Florida Industrial Commission affirming an order of the deputy commissioner awarding the respondent, Nicholas P. Valeriani, workmen’s compensation benefits.

Respondent, Valeriani, was employed as a detective by the petitioner and had left his home on July 2, 1960, in Coral Gables in plainclothes in his own personal unmarked automobile to report for work at the Miami Beach Police Department at 8:00 o’clock a. m. Valeriani had previously been commissioned at the request of his employer as a deputy sheriff of Dade County to assist him in his work with the Juvenile and Missing Persons Division of the Miami Beach Police Department. The expenses of his bond as a deputy sheriff were paid for by the petitioner, but he did not receive any compensation as a deputy sheriff.

Valeriani had stopped his automobile in the City of Miami about 7:45 o’clock a. m., as the result of an altercation with a truck driver who had crowded his car as he was attempting to turn off of Biscayne Boulevard to go over the McArthur Causeway into Miami Beach at the 13th Street corner in Miami.

The truck driver also stopped and as Valeriani walked back toward the truck driver for the purpose of making an arrest as a deputy sheriff of Dade County for a traffic law violation he held a Miami Beach Police identification card in one hand and a Metropolitan Dade County deputy sheriff’s identification card in the other hand. When Valeriani reached the fender of the truck the truck driver assaulted and beat him, resulting in severe injuries. No arrest was actually made by Valeriani, but an [227]*227arrest of the truck driver was then made by a police officer of the City of Miami who came upon the scene, which was about a mile from the city limits of Miami Beach.

The deputy commissioner found that claimant sustained injuries as the result of this altercation with the truck driver arising out of and in the course of his employment with petitioner. The full commission in affirming found that claimant’s injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment and that claimant apparently was trying to forestall an imminent “invasion” of the streets of Miami Beach by a dangerous truck driver. The petitioner contended that the claimant was not entitled to compensation because his injury did not arise out of and in the course of his employment with petitioner. In addition, petitioner contended that in the absence of statutory authority a municipal police officer who has also become a deputy sheriff at his employer’s request has no authority from his employer to investigate a traffic offense or make an arrest for a traffic offense outside the boundary of his municipality.

The Metropolitan Dade County Traffic Code gives authority to municipal police officers within their boundaries to enforce the provisions of that Code. Section 30-165(a) of the Code reads:

“It shall be the duty of the public safety department and municipal police officers within their boundaries to enforce the provisions of this chapter.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Accordingly, it is clear that claimant had authority to make arrests within the City of Miami Beach for violations of its ordinances as well as violations of the Metropolitan Dade County Traffic Code. But claimant certainly had no right as a municipal police officer of the City of Miami Beach to make arrests for violations of the Dade County Traffic Code in the City of Miami, and we so hold.

Factual situations somewhat comparable have been before the appellate courts in other states and petitioner relies for reversal of the award to claimant upon the decisions in Taylor v. Town of Wake Forest (North Carolina Supreme Court, 1947), 228 N.C. 346, 45 S.E.2d 387, and Hacker v. City of Potosi (St. Louis Court of Appeal, Missouri, November 15, 1960), 340 S.W. 2d 166. And respondent, Valeriani, relies for denial of the petition for writ of certiorari upon Sweat v. Allen (Fla.1941), 145 Fla. 733, 200 So. 348.

In Taylor v. Town of Wake Forest, 228 N.C. 346, 45 S.E.2d 387, Taylor, a constable of Wake Forest Township, employed by the Town of Wake Forest as a special officer to help keep order at nights and on weekends in the business section of the town, was killed while trying to arrest a person outside the limits of the Town of Wake Forest. The Town of Wake Forest lies within Wake Forest Township. The widow and daughter of decedent proceeded under the North Carolina Workmen’s Compensation Act to determine the liability of the Town of Wake Forest for the death of the constable. They were awarded compensation benefits by the hearing commissioner, which was affirmed by the full commission. The question before the Supreme Court of North Carolina was whether or not the death of the constable resulted from injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment by the Town of Wake Forest within the meaning of the Workmen’s Compensation Act. The Court said in reversing the compensation award: Text 390.

“The evidence clearly shows that the Town of Wake Forest sought the services of Taylor in his capacity as a township constable, and engaged him to do specific work within the limits of a certain territory and during certain hours. The evidence also shows clearly that the mortal injury which Taylor received did not occur in the performance of the specific work he was engaged to do within the limits of the ter[228]*228ritory to which his employment by the Town of Wake Forest related.
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“And this Court has held the powers and duties of constables are co-extensive with the limits of the county within which they are elected.
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“Such being the powers and duties of a constable, to hold that since the Town of Wake Forest makes a special arrangement with a township constable to do a specific job in certain territory within the corporate limits of the Town, it constitutes such constable its employee wherever he may go in the performance of his duty as such in Wake County, in which the Town is located, would present a rather anomalous position.”

In Hacker v. City of Potosi, Mo.App., 340 S.W.2d 166, the claimant was injured by being shot by a person claimant was attempting to arrest for a violation of law outside the limits of the City of Potosi. Compensation was sought by the claimant, who was a police officer employed by the City of Potosi, which was denied by the referee and the order of the referee denying compensation was affirmed by the full commission, as well as the Circuit Court.

The claimant was a police officer of the City of Potosi, Washington County, Missouri, as well as a duly appointed deputy sheriff in and for Washington County. Claimant and the Chief of Police of Potosi gave chase to a speeding automobile which they observed within the corporate limits of Potosi. They pursued the speeder into the county and into a residence where the speeder had taken refuge. It was there the shooting occurred.

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Bluebook (online)
137 So. 2d 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-miami-beach-v-valeriani-fla-1962.