State v. Kurtz

249 P.3d 1271, 350 Or. 65, 2011 Ore. LEXIS 222
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 25, 2011
DocketCC 05FE0031; CA A132184; SC S058346
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 249 P.3d 1271 (State v. Kurtz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kurtz, 249 P.3d 1271, 350 Or. 65, 2011 Ore. LEXIS 222 (Or. 2011).

Opinion

*67 DE MUNIZ, C. J.

Warm Springs Tribal Police Officer Davino observed defendant commit a traffic violation on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and signaled defendant to stop his vehicle. Defendant did not stop his vehicle until after he had crossed the reservation boundary into Jefferson County. During the traffic stop, an altercation occurred between Davino and defendant. As a result, defendant was charged in Jefferson County Circuit Court with fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, ORS 811.540, and resisting arrest by a peace officer, ORS 162.315. At trial, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal on both charges, arguing that Davino was neither a “police officer” for purposes of ORS 811.540 nor a “peace officer” for purposes of ORS 162.315. 1 The trial court denied defendant’s motion and found defendant guilty on both charges.

Defendant appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed defendant’s convictions, concluding that, because Davino was a tribal police officer and not a police officer employed by an Oregon governmental unit, Davino was neither a “police officer” nor a “peace officer” for purposes of the fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer statute and the resisting arrest statute. State v. Kurtz, 233 Or App 573, 228 P3d 583 (2010). This court allowed the state’s petition for review to consider whether the legislature intended to include tribal police as “police officers” and “peace officers” within the relevant statutes. As we will explain, we conclude that, for purposes of the crimes of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and resisting arrest, the legislature intended the statutory terms “police officer” and “peace officer” to include tribal police officers such as Davino. We therefore reverse the Court of Appeals decision and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

We take the facts from the record and the Court of Appeals opinion:

“The case was tried to the court, and the court made the following factual findings:
*68 “ ‘Joseph Davino is a full time commissioned officer working for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Officer Davino was hired by Warm Springs on October 25, 2004.
“ ‘[Defendant] is a non-Indian who lives on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
« * * * *
“ ‘During Officer Davino’s shift on January 19, 2005, he observed a vehicle driven by [defendant] on Highway 26. The two were traveling in opposite directions and Officer Davino thought [that defendant] was appearing to hide from him as they passed.
“ ‘Officer Davino turned his vehicle around and followed the car driven by [defendant]. Officer Davino testified that he followed the vehicle for approximately one mile and the driver and passenger appeared nervous.
“ ‘At a point very close to the reservation boundary [defendant] turned around to look at Officer Davino. When [defendant] turned around, his vehicle went across the center line and into the oncoming traffic lane of travel.
“ ‘Officer Davino activated his overhead lights to stop the vehicle driven by [defendant] for a traffic offense committed in the officer’s presence.
“ ‘The vehicle didn’t respond to the overhead lights and proceeded to go over the bridge across the Deschutes River that is the boundary of the Reservation.
“ ‘Officer Davino activated his siren near the boat entrance to the Deschutes River which is located off the Reservation and at this point believed that he had probable cause to stop the vehicle for the crime of Attempt to Elude Police with a Vehicle.
“ ‘The driver of the vehicle eventually pulled over. The passenger in the vehicle fled by foot. The driver of the vehicle [defendant] was detained at gun point and placed under arrest.’
“Defendant subsequently resisted arrest and was subdued with the assistance of additional tribal police officers and pepper spray. Davino was driving a marked Warm Springs patrol car and wearing his Warm Springs Police uniform at *69 the time of the traffic stop. Davino was not deputized by the Jefferson County Sheriff nor had he attended the Oregon Police Academy at that time.”

Kurtz, 233 Or App at 575-76 (quoting the trial court’s findings of fact; brackets in original).

On appeal, the Court of Appeals separately analyzed the statutes describing “police officer” and “peace officer” to determine whether the legislature intended to include tribal police within those statutory terms. The Court of Appeals first considered whether Davino was a “police officer” under ORS 801.395. 2 In doing so, the Court of Appeals — identifying a common characteristic shared by the officers listed in the statute — concluded that tribal police fell within the dictionary definition of “police officer” and shared many of same functions as the listed officers, i.e., enforcing laws, maintaining order, and working for a governmental entity responsible for those functions. However, that court concluded that the term “police officer,” as used in ORS 801.395, was limited to officers employed by a governmental entity of the State of Oregon, or a county or city within the state. The Court of Appeals reasoned that, because Davino was employed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, a separate sovereign, Davino was not a police officer within the meaning of ORS 801.395, and therefore defendant had not attempted to elude a “police officer” in violation ORS 811.540. Id. at 582.

The Court of Appeals turned next to the definition of “peace officer,” set out in ORS 161.015(4), observing that the types of law enforcement officers identified in that statute also shared a common limiting characteristic — they were all agents of an Oregon governmental entity whose authority was designated by Oregon law. Viewed in that light, the Court of Appeals reasoned that the concluding phrase in ORS 161.015

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
249 P.3d 1271, 350 Or. 65, 2011 Ore. LEXIS 222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kurtz-or-2011.